February 18, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 18.02.2026, 20:00
WEATHER Scores of vehicles were snowed in and over 170 trees fell following the heavy snowfalls that hit Romania on Tuesday night. According to the Department for Emergency Situations, 100 localities in 21 counties in the south, southeast and east of the country were affected, including the capital city Bucharest, where public transport was severely disrupted. Sections of highways and national roads are partly closed. All flights from the “Henri Coandă” Airport in Bucharest were delayed on Wednesday morning, and 5 flights were diverted to other airports. Dozens of trains connecting Bucharest with cities in the south and southeast were canceled. Rail traffic was suspended on the Ploieşti – Bucharest route, as trees had fallen on tracks. Also, all the Black Sea ports in Constanta are closed, and in Tulcea, traffic on the Danube’s Sulina Canal is suspended. The freight ferry route between the Romanian town of Isaccea and Orlivka (Ukraine) was also temporarily suspended due to the weather. Tens of thousands were left without electricity, while in-person classes are suspended in many schools in the south.
MAGISTRATES President Nicuşor Dan and PM Ilie Bolojan Wednesday welcomed the Constitutional Court ruling that dismissed a notification of the High Court of Cassation and Justice against the reform of magistrates’ pensions, and declared the bill drafted by the government in this respect is constitutional. It is an act of fairness that society had been waiting for, the president said, and assured all magistrates that their work is respected and their importance in the architecture of the state is fully recognised. “The reform of special pensions was insistently called for by the Romanian society and we are taking a big step towards fairness,” the government said in turn. The Cabinet announced that steps will now be taken to recover the EU funding linked to this reform. On the other hand, the Higher Council of Magistrates argues that the new legislative framework regarding retirement will have serious effects on the functioning of the judicial system. The Council believes the reform may prompt magistrates to leave the system and turn the magistrate status into an unattractive one for new generations of legal professionals. The reform provides for a gradual increase of the retirement age for judges and prosecutors to 65, and caps the amount of their pension benefits at 70% of the net income made in the last month of work. The bill had received a negative opinion from the Higher Council of Magistrates, and the Constitutional Court had postponed a ruling on it 5 times, although the release of over EUR 230 million under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan is conditional on its endorsement.
PRESIDENCY In an interview in Radio Romania News and Current Affairs studio, the president of Romania Nicușor Dan said he decided to attend the first meeting of the Board of Peace convened by US president Donald Trump in Washington, because his presence as an observer served Romania’s interests. Nicușor Dan explained that he made this decision after several days of talks with the American side, in which he requested clarifications regarding the options for a state which is not a member, but which resonates with the direction of this organisation. On the other hand, Mr. Dan said Romania stays on a pro-Western direction, has reduced its budget deficit, and there are no longer any concerns from investors and rating agencies. At the same time, he announced he will soon make a decision regarding the appointment of the heads of the Romanian Intelligence Service and Foreign Intelligence Service.
INFLATION The National Bank of Romania has revised its inflation forecast for the end of 2026 from 3.7% to 3.9%. At the same time, according to data made public on Wednesday by Governor Mugur Isărescu, inflation is expected to reach 2.7% at the end of 2027. The central bank chief warned that investments with EU funding are needed to balance out the decrease in spending and political stability is required in order for measures to reduce the budget deficit to be carried on. He believes that in 5 years Romania could begin talks on a date for switching to the single European currency, the Euro. However, he added, this is conditional on the results of the programme to reduce the budget deficit below 3% of GDP. Isărescu also cautioned that the governmental debt remains high, at over of 60% of GDP. On Tuesday, the Board of the National Bank decided to keep the monetary policy interest rate at 6.50% per year.
ECONOMY In 2025 Romania saw the highest investments of the past 30 years compared to its GDP (over 7%), according to a report by the consulting company Coface presented in Paris on Wednesday. However, the document also points to many weaknesses of the country, such as slow administrative and legal processes, corruption, bureaucracy, poor management of workforce and public procurement, a significant underground economy and insufficient fiscal control, low birth rate and the emigration of educated young people. The report also says Romania will continue to face difficulties related to its efforts to stabilize public finances and the budget austerity program. The recent VAT increase could further reduce spending, but the planned fiscal consolidation should gradually alleviate pressures, the Coface report reads. (AMP)
