April 3, 2026 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 03.04.2026, 20:00

FUEL – The Bucharest Government has approved the second package of intervention measures on the fuel market, after the decision to cap the commercial surcharge on gasoline and diesel, which came into force on April 1. This concerns the reduction of the excise duty on standard diesel by 36 bani with VAT per liter and the introduction of a solidarity contribution for companies in the oil sector. The order will come into force on Tuesday, April 7 and will be in effect as long as the fuel price crisis persists, both internationally and domestically. Government spokeswoman Ioana Dogioiu explained that it was decided to only lower the excise duty on diesel, whose price has increased the most, because 75% of fuel consumption in Romania is diesel and because this price increases inflation. The government’s measure to reduce the excise duty on diesel by 30 bani per liter is insufficient, says the president of IMM Romania, Florin Jianu. He believes there is room for a more consistent decrease given that Romania has one of the highest excise duties on oil in the European Union. He said his calculations show that from the windfall gains, the value added tax and the minimum turnover tax, a reduction of 50 bani per lietr in fuel prices could be covered.

COACH – The former coach of the Romanian national football team Mircea Lucescu suffered a heart attack at the  University Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, where he was due to be discharged from on Friday. At 80 years old, the most successful Romanian football coach was hospitalized after an incident that had occurred on March 29, when he lost consciousness during a training session of the national team. He ended his mandate as coach on Thursday, after 11 wins, one draw and 6 losses and after failing to qualify for this summer’s World Cup. Members of the Technical Commission of the Romanian Football Federation are due to meet to decide on his replacement. According to some sources, the helm of the Romanian national team is expected to be taken over by the former international footballer Gheorghe Hagi.

CRISIS – The European Union is evaluating ‘all options’, including fuel rationing and releasing more oil from strategic reserves, as it braces for a ‘long-lasting’ energy shock caused by the Middle East war, the bloc’s energy commissioner, Dan Jorgensen, said in an interview with the Financial Times. This will be a long-term crisis and energy prices will be higher for a very long time, the commissioner said. He also said he does not rule out a further release of oil from strategic reserves if the situation gets worse. Last month, EU countries participated in the largest release of strategic oil reserves in history in an attempt to temper rising prices after the almost complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf.

HELMET – The Dacian helmet from Coţofeneşti and two gold bracelets were recovered and handed over to Romania on Thursday, after they were stolen last January from the Drents Museum in the Netherlands. The third bracelet is still being sought, announced the prosecutors who dealt with this case. Only the helmet is slightly damaged, but it can be completely restored, the director of the Drents Museum announced. Romanian President Nicuşor Dan warned that the authorities in Bucharest have the responsibility to assume a much more careful management of objects of exceptional historical and cultural importance for the Romanian heritage, through stricter and correctly applied rules. In turn, the Minister of Culture Demeter András István said that the amount to be returned to the Dutch side, which paid compensations to Romania, will be determined only after the restoration process of the artifacts is completed.

PFIZER – Health Minister Alexandru Rogobete said on Friday that he is considering opening direct negotiations with Pfizer so that, on account of the 600 million euros owed by Romania, it could receive innovative medicines from the company and thus introduce modern therapies into the public healthcare system. He believes that it is not a simple solution and it is not a decision that can be made overnight, but it is a responsible direction, in which a financial obligation is transformed into a concrete gain for the healthcare system. On Wednesday, a Court in Brussels sentenced, in the first instance, Poland and Romania to pay an outstanding balance for the anti-COVID vaccines ordered from the pharmaceutical group Pfizer/BioNTech. The pharmaceutical company sued the two countries in 2023 to enforce the execution of the procurement contracts, which, following the end of the pandemic, Poland and Romania refused to fully cover. (EE)