February 23, 2026 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 23.02.2026, 20:00

MOTION – The Senate in Bucharest rejected, on Monday, the simple motion filed by the populist opposition against the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Ţoiu. Minister Ţoiu did not participate in the debates, as she was in Brussels at the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council. She was criticized for the signatories of the motion for what they say is “a wrong way of doing foreign policy”. Instead of the Foreign Minister, the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Clara Volintiru, participated in the debates on the simple motion. She said that, during this mandate, the transparency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has increased, thus responding to the criticisms of the opposition.

UKRAINE – The Romanian Parliament will be lit up in the colors of the Ukrainian flag on Tuesday evening, to mark four years of Russian aggression against Ukraine. The institution thus joins other states that will commemorate, through a joint gesture of solidarity, the victims of the war, the Chamber of Deputies announced. Tuesday will be four years since the outbreak of the war, and to mark this moment, several civic organizations in Constanţa and Iaşi have scheduled public events.

BRUSSELS – Hungary is blocking the adoption of the 20th package of sanctions against Russia, as well as the vote on the 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine. On Monday, in Brussels, European foreign ministers were surprised by Hungary’s opposition to the loan, which was agreed by Viktor Orbán at the December summit. Member states wanted both the sanctions package against Russia and the loan to be given the green light on Monday or Tuesday, when it will be four years since the outbreak of the war.

DECLARATION – Romania has adopted, alongside Albania, Bulgaria, Italy and North Macedonia, the Tiirana Ministerial Declaration at a meeting dedicated to Corridor VIII. According to the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest, the five states reiterated the political, economic and strategic importance of the project, which seeks to address connectivity gaps in South-Eastern Europe. The declaration underlines the importance of the Black Sea and the Western Balkans as significant economic areas with considerable development potential. In this context, Corridor VIII is seen as playing a key role by facilitating trade flows and improving regional and European supply chains. The Foreign Ministry also notes that both the private sector and local communities stand to benefit from the corridor’s development, which is expected to strengthen the resilience of regional economies and generate new investment opportunities. At the same time, Corridor VIII is designed to enhance military mobility, contributing to efforts to consolidate NATO’s Eastern Flank and to strengthen NATO–EU cooperation.

FUEL – Fuel prices on the Romanian market continued the upward trend that started at the beginning of the year. Dumitru Chisăliţă, a representative of the Smart Energy Association, said that the increase in excise duties from January 1, the increase in the price of crude oil on international markets and the demand problems in southeastern Europe, caused by the attack on the pipeline that transports Russian crude oil to Hungary and Slovakia, are the main causes. He explained that the  increases in international crude oil prices in 2026 did not fully reflect in the pump prices in Romania, which increased by 8.5% in the case of diesel, while in the case of gasoline the real adjustment was even smaller. Chisăliţă also said that, in order to limit the impact of the evolution of international oil prices on pump prices in Romania, a mechanism for automatic state intervention would be necessary when the price of Romanian oil increases by more than 10% within a three-month period.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS – Security issues were high on the agenda in Washington, where Interior Minister Cătălin Predoiu met US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. According to the Romanian Interior Ministry, talks focused on migration management, border security, the fight against organized crime and emerging threats. Also discussed was the Visa Waiver Programme. The Romanian side underlined the high level of interest this issue holds in the country and presented the technical instruments that have already been put in place. Both sides agreed to continue dialogue and cooperation on the matter. (EE)