August 4, 2026

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 04.08.2026, 13:55

NRRP. The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest, as the first chamber to consider the bill, has adopted the draft law on integrity – a key element of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) – which is now to be debated by the Senate, as the decision-making chamber. Amendments tabled by the PSD and AUR (populist, ultra-nationalist) have been passed, under which local elected representatives found to be definitively incompatible or in a conflict of interest will lose their seats within 30 days of the law coming into force. The bill also extends, in the case of public officials, the obligation to submit declarations of interests to include individuals who have relationships similar to those between spouses. Representatives of the PNL and USR have criticised the amendments, which they claim are unconstitutional and jeopardise the receipt of the 770 million euros in funding through the PNRR. By the end of August, in order not to lose European funding, Parliament must also adopt the draft law on biodiversity conservation, which will be considered today by the relevant committees and in the Senate plenary.

Energy. Work is continuing today on the Danube to ensure that Reactor 2 at the Cernavodă Power Plant (in south-eastern Romania) can continue to operate, following a controlled blast on Monday that removed part of a rock face, thereby allowing a greater volume of water to be channelled towards the power station and temporarily stabilising the flow. The flow of the Danube, which is already at historic lows, is set to continue falling over the coming days. Romania is under an energy alert declared by the Government throughout August, amid a severe drop in domestic electricity production caused by extreme drought and reduced water levels in rivers and the Danube. Acting Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan has announced new measures to ensure the necessary electricity supply under these circumstances.

Fuels. An emergency meeting was held at the Ministry of Energy in Bucharest with representatives of oil companies and petrol stations, against the backdrop of a significant rise in prices. Standard diesel has reached a record high of 10 lei and 80 bani per litre, the equivalent of around 2 euros, and is rapidly approaching the critical threshold of 11 lei, which premium grades have already exceeded. Discussions in Bucharest focused on monitoring stocks, the causes of supply issues and curbing speculative pricing. Oil companies have given assurances that they have the capacity to meet market demand, although temporary transport bottlenecks may occur in certain regions. For its part, the Ministry of Energy has ruled out the risk of a long-term shortage. Recently, the Romanian Parliament has re-declared a state of crisis in the fuel market until 31 October.

Migration. European interior ministers are holding a video conference today to discuss the crisis in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, where several thousand migrants are still occupying the beaches and have not been able to be repatriated. Of the approximately 80,000 who have recently entered the city, most have already returned to their home countries, particularly Morocco. Italy has already announced that it will support the establishment of migrant centres outside the European Union, based on the controversial model it implemented in Albania, but in line with the new European regulations. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has proposed better surveillance of the Union’s borders, including physical barriers where necessary, and additional support for Morocco to secure its borders. Morocco is accused of orchestrating this crisis, according to warnings from the Spanish Intelligence Service. Morocco has already stated that the blame lies entirely with the criminal gangs who deceived the people, but the Spanish Defence Minister is calling on Rabat to see the investigation through to the end to find out exactly what happened.

Competition. From 3 to 6 August, Bucharest is hosting the first International Business and Finance Olympiad, organised by the Romanian Centre for Excellence in Economics. Forty students and 16 team leaders from eight countries – Greece, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Macao, New Zealand, Poland and Romania – are taking part in person. The competition puts the students in the role of consultants. They must analyse a company’s financial data, identify the core problem, calculate performance indicators, devise a strategy, draft a professional report and defend their recommendations before a jury. This year, Romania won three bronze medals at the International Economics Olympiad, held in Shenzhen, China.

Tennis. Romanian tennis player Gabriela Ruse defeated American Peyton Stearns in two sets on Monday in the first round of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Toronto, which offers total prize money of over 7.4 million dollars. Ruse now leads Stearns 2–0 in their head-to-head record. The Romanian will face Austrian Anastasia Potapova in the second round.

Weather. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the heatwave will persist and intensify across all regions of Romania. On Friday it will ease in intensity and be confined to the southern half of the country. A red alert is in place for persistent and intense heat, a heatwave, severe thermal discomfort and tropical nights until tomorrow in five western counties, while an orange alert is in place across most of the centre of the country. For the rest of the country, meteorologists have issued a yellow warning. Extreme heat and severe thermal discomfort will affect relatively large areas, and the temperature-humidity index (THI) will reach and exceed the critical threshold of 80 units. Maximum temperatures will range from 29 degrees on the coast to 40–41 degrees in the west. Nights will be tropical across most of the country, with minimum temperatures of 20–26 degrees. There will be periods of atmospheric instability on Tuesday and Wednesday, particularly in the Eastern Carpathians; on Thursday across most of the mountainous regions; and on Friday in the northern half of the country and in limited areas elsewhere. This will take the form of torrential downpours, lightning, gusts of wind, gales and isolated hailstorms. In Bucharest, the heatwave is intensifying, with the weather becoming sweltering, reaching a maximum temperature of 36 degrees. (MI)