February 27, 2026
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 27.02.2026, 13:55
Reform. Romanian President Nicuşor Dan announced today that he has promulgated the law on magistrates’ pensions. “Recalibrating the way these pensions are calculated is a gesture of fairness that our society has been waiting for. Citizens’ trust in the state is regained when the reforms expected by society become reality”, the head of state wrote on Facebook. He assures magistrates that their work is respected and their importance in the architecture of the state is fully recognized. The Constitutional Court of Romania published yesterday the reasoning behind its February 18 decision establishing that the government’s new draft law on the reform of magistrates’ pensions was constitutional. The law provides for a phased increase in the retirement age to 65, compared to 48-50 at present. Also, the amount of the pension cannot exceed 70% of the net income received in the last month of activity. The adoption of this long-delayed reform, although included as a milestone in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan agreed with the European Commission, was also dependent on Brussels delivering a tranche of 231 million euros to Romania.
Budget. Romania’s state budget is in surplus by almost one billion lei (equivalent to around 200 million euros), or 0.04% of the GDP, according to preliminary budget execution data for January presented by Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare to Bloomberg and quoted by the media in Bucharest. According to the source, the result indicates “a clear sign of financial discipline.” This is the first time since 2019 that the state has had a budget surplus. Last year, for example, in January, the budget was in deficit by almost 0.6% of the GDP. Now revenues have increased by 18% and expenditures have decreased by 6%. Confidence in the national economy also rose significantly at the beginning of this year, according to a survey by the Romanian Investment Professionals Association. The indicator, which measures the optimism of financial specialists, rose by more than 10 points in January. Most experts expect prices to rise more slowly in the coming year, with forecast inflation falling below 6%.
CEI. On Thursday, Foreign Minister Oana Ţoiu opened in Bucharest the first meeting of the Committee of National Coordinators, marking the official start of Romania’s term as President of the Central European Initiative (CEI) for 2026. The meeting was attended by the Secretary General of the CEI Executive Secretariat, Franco Dal Mas, as well as the National Coordinators from all 16 member states of the Initiative. Oana Ţoiu and Franco Dal Mas presented Romania’s strategic goals under the motto ‘Closer in the region, stronger in Europe’: European integration of candidate countries, promotion of cross-border economic partnerships and regional investments, combating information manipulation and disinformation, supporting local authorities in delivering concrete initiatives for citizens, and involving the new generation in building a future based on trust and common values. The CEI is the largest forum for regional cooperation in Central and South-Eastern Europe. Of its 16 members, 9 are EU members (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary).
NRRP. Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan discussed the status of the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan with the President of the European Commission and the Commissioner for Economy in Brussels. The head of the Bucharest government said he was optimistic about Romania’s chances of receiving the 231 million Euro tranche, conditional on the implementation of the reform of magistrates’ pensions. He explained to European officials that the government had completed the task in a timely manner, but that the reform had been blocked in court for a long time. Bolojan has stated that this year, Romania will see a peak in investments, mainly due to European funds through the NRRP, which must be absorbed by the end of August. The discussions also focused on investments in defense and European security.
EBRD. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has revised downwards to 1.2% its growth forecast for the Romanian economy in 2026, compared to 1.6% estimated in September, according to the “Regional Economic Prospects” report published by the international financial institution. According to the EBRD, growth in 2026 and an advance of 2.2% in 2027 are supported by a projected peak in the absorption of European funds from the RRF (Recovery and Resilience Facility) and an improvement in the trade balance. It is also estimated that the fiscal deficit has narrowed to around 8% of the GDP in 2025 and is expected to fall to 6.2% in 2026.
Drones. Residents of Tulcea County, in southeastern Romania, near the border with Ukraine invaded by Russian troops, received another extreme alert this morning – the fourth issued by authorities since Wednesday evening. People were again informed that there was a possibility of objects falling from the air. They were advised to remain calm and take shelter in basements or civil defense shelters. In previous days, the Ministry of National Defense confirmed that Russian drones had violated Romanian airspace. (MI)
