February 10, 2026 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 10.02.2026, 20:00

FOREIGN AFFAIRS – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Oana Ţoiu, paid a 2-day working visit to London, that included discussions with her British counterpart, Yvette Cooper. The visit reconfirms Romania’s firm commitment to dialogue, cooperation and solid partnerships, in an international context marked by security challenges and significant geopolitical transformations, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Meetings with members of the Interparliamentary Group for Romania and with representatives of the Romanian community in London were on the agenda of Ţoiu’s visit to London.

DEFENSE – The Romanian Minister of Defense, Radu Miruţă, will participate, on Wednesday, in the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), in the format of Defense Ministers, and on Thursday, in the meeting of Defense Ministers of NATO member states, in Brussels. According to a press release, the FAC meeting, chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, will have as main themes the military support provided by the Union to Ukraine, as well as the perspectives in the field of security and defense this year. The NATO meeting program will include, among others, a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, dedicated to the deterrence and defense agenda, as well as a meeting of the Contact Group for Ukraine. According to the press release, the Romanian Minister of Defense will also have bilateral meetings in Brussels with NATO and EU officials, as well as with counterparts from allied countries.

MERCOSUR – MEPs supported additional protection measures in Strasbourg on Tuesday to prevent the European agricultural sector from being harmed by the liberalisation of trade with Mercosur countries, according to a statement from the European Parliament. The new regulation, already informally agreed with EU member states, was adopted by 483 votes in favour, 102 against and 67 abstentions. It sets out how the Union could temporarily suspend the tariff preferences provided for in the EU-Mercosur trade agreement on agricultural imports from the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), if a sudden increase in these imports affects EU producers. We recall that European farmers, including Romanian ones, are unhappy with this agreement signed at the beginning of the year. They fear massive imports of cheaper South American products that do not meet the same strict quality and environmental standards.

REFORM – Administrative reform, the policy of reducing public spending and their impact on localities in the country was the topic of the debate held Tuesday in Bucharest by the Association of Romanian Municipalities. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan was also present at the event, and he stated that, in the absence of measures to make local public administration more efficient, the number of municipalities will be reduced. He mentioned that Romania is facing a ‘very large’ budget deficit, which the Government has committed to correcting. Bolojan also said that, according to the EU average, payroll expenses are covered by revenues obtained through local taxes. In contrast, in Romania, revenues from local taxes cover only a quarter of payroll expenses. The debate took place in parallel with the warning strike in over 1,300 city halls in the country, during which the institutions were closed to the public. Employees are unhappy with the measures included in the administration reform plan, as well as the level of local taxes. The reform package in local and central administration is to be adopted by the Government in this week’s meeting, according to the Prime Minister.

INS – The National Institute of Statistics (INS) will present its report on the evolution of the economy on Friday, which will clarify whether or not Romania has entered an economic recession. If the Gross Domestic Product in the fourth quarter of last year indicates a decrease, after the decline recorded in the third quarter of 2025, the economy will officially be in recession. According to Eurostat data, Romania recorded the most severe decrease in consumption in the European Union towards the end of the year, due to the decrease in purchasing power generated by inflation.

BACTERIA – The Argeş County Emergency Committee (southern Romania) has decided to establish a 30-day state of alert in the municipality of Curtea de Argeş, after the detection of a bacterium in the water from the distribution network. The city’s residents were informed through a RO-ALERT message about the prohibition to use the water from the network for consumption, food preparation and personal hygiene, until the situation is completely remedied. In the meantime, the Emergency Inspectorate will continue to ensure the transport of drinking water to the existing distribution points in the city, as well as to the Municipal Hospital. This evening, the water supply will be completely stopped, for 24 hours, to carry out some works at the water treatment station.

DANUBE – Two bids have been submitted to the tender for the design and execution of Fast Danube 2, a project that will revitalize the Romanian-Bulgarian sector of the Danube over a length of 470 km, said the Minister of Transport in Bucharest, Ciprian Şerban, on Facebook. With an estimated value of approximately 170 million euros, the Fast Danube 2 project will allow the navigation period to increase from 280 to 340 days per year and will generate an estimated 20% increase in the volume of goods transported on the river, directly contributing to the consolidation of river transport and regional economic development. The project provides, among other things, 110 km of dredged navigable channel, over 5 km of bank stabilization and an artificial island.

DRILL – The Cincu Training Area, in Braşov County (central Romania), is hosting until Friday the multinational exercise Dynamic Front 26. It is taking place simultaneously in several NATO countries and it is considered a major test of how the Alliance’s forces can react in a coordinated manner on the eastern flank, in a complex security scenario, characterized by the need for a rapid and integrated response. Romanian and Polish HIMARS launchers, as well as self-propelled howitzers deployed in Romania within the multinational battle group, participated in the Cincu firing. (EE)