August 28, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Cristina Mateescu, 28.08.2026, 19:47
Law. On Friday, Romanian president Nicușor Dan promulgated the integrity law with the recent amendments adopted by Parliament. He said he still believes the law is not constitutional, despite a ruling to the contrary by the Constitutional Court. He explained that he would have sent the bill back to Parliament if it had not been for the risk of losing EU funding if the bill was not adopted by the end of August. He also said that he has asked Parliament to resume and deepen debates on this law during the upcoming autumn session. The integrity law is a critical milestone within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, on which access to a 770 million euro payment depends.
Moldova. While in Chișinău on Thursday to attend events marking Independence Day in the neighbouring Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet republic with a majority Romanian-speaking population), Romanian president Nicuşor Dan gave assurances that Romania, as a member of the European Union and NATO, continues to support the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, both on their path to Europe and in the face of threats from Russia. In Chișinău, Nicuşor Dan also held a one-on-one meeting with Moldova’s pro-Western president Maia Sandu and took part in three-party talks with the presidents of Moldova and Ukraine. The Republic of Moldova declared its independence from the Soviet Union on August 27, 1991, and on that same day, Romania was the first country to officially recognise the new state.
Funding. Romania’s caretaker government has approved a set of measures necessary to finalise the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The cabinet met in an extraordinary session in hybrid format against the backdrop of the August 31 deadline for accessing the funds available under this facility. Beyond this date, ongoing projects will have to be finished using local government budgets. Government sources indicated that another extraordinary meeting might be held on Monday to adopt further measures relating to projects connected to the energy ministry. However, unfinished projects could be salvaged by transferring them to other European programmes, according to Vice-President of the European Parliament Victor Negrescu. He announced that he had officially proposed this option to member states to prevent school and hospital construction sites from stalling. Negrescu added that Romanian authorities must demonstrate coherence in their talks with Brussels and provide clear justifications for the delays on the ground. This option is vital, given that municipalities are racing against the clock to finalise investments. Out of 4,500 projects due to be finished by the end of the month, only 2,000 have been closed.
Population. Romania’s population continued to decline over the past year, reaching just over 19 million inhabitants on January 1, 2026. According to the latest data published by the National Institute of Statistics, this decline is driven by a sharply negative natural growth rate, with the number of deaths exceeding the number of births by more than 104,000. At the same time, the phenomenon of population aging is intensifying rapidly, with the elderly (aged 65 and over) accounting for 20.5% of the population, and the percentage of children under 14 falling to 15%. Current figures show that there are nearly 136 elderly people for every 100 young people in Romania. The only slight increase was recorded in urban areas, where the population grew by 0.2% compared to the previous year.
Football. Romanian football champions Universitatea Craiova will compete in the main phase of the Conference League after being eliminated from the Europa League by Ararat-Armenia Yerevan. Universitatea lost 1-nil away, after a 1-all draw in the first leg. Following a draw held on Friday in Monte Carlo, Craiova will face a number of tough opponents in the Conference League. They will play at home against FC Copenhagen, Getafe and the Albanian champions Egnatia and will travel for away matches against Brighton, Kairat Almaty (the champions of Kazakhstan), and Inter Club d’Escaldes, the first team from Andorra to qualify for the main stage of a European competition. Universitatea Craiova, who are competing in the Conference League for the second consecutive year, are Romania’s only remaining club in this season’s European football competitions, as its three other sides, namely Universitatea Cluj, CFR Cluj and FCSB, were eliminated in the preliminary rounds. (CM)
