February 9, 2026
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 09.02.2026, 13:55
ECONOMY – The Romanian Government is set to adopt this week the third package of fiscal-budgetary measures, and then take responsibility for it before Parliament. It contains two major projects – the administration reform and the first economic recovery measures. The government intends to adopt simultaneously, in the first session, both bills, which are closely linked to each other because the implementation of one will bring the money needed for the second, and the impact of these laws will also be included in the calculations for this year’s state budget. The reform of local and central public administration aims at a 10% reduction in personnel expenses, without affecting basic salaries, increasing the efficiency and quality of public services. On the other hand, the economic recovery project aims to stimulate investments, being designed on two essential components – one fiscal and another containing support schemes for companies. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan announced that discussions on this year’s budget will be finalized, so that it can be sent to Parliament around February 20. A budget deficit reduced to 6.2%, investments of 7% of GDP, completion of NRRP projects by September, and an inflation target of 4% at the end of the year are the main pillars of the 2026 budget.
STRATEGY – European officials, including the Romanian Foreign Minister, Oana Ţoiu, recently participated in a meeting organized by the United States in Washington on the topic of rare earths and metals. China is currently the great power in terms of the exploitation and processing of these materials on which a number of cutting-edge technologies in the United States and other Western countries depend, and the Americans’ objective is, according to France Presse, to build a coalition of allies in order to diversify the sources of rare earths. The meeting was chaired by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and an intervention by Vice President J.D. Vance also took place. The ministerial meeting brought together a core group formed by five EU foreign ministers, representing Romania, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and Lithuania, as well as ministers and representatives of 54 countries and the European Commission. Rare earths and minerals are essential to the most advanced technologies and will become even more important as artificial intelligence, robotics, batteries and autonomous devices transform economies.
VISIT– Foreign Minister Oana Ţoiu, begins a two-day working visit to London today, in the context of Romania’s efforts to consolidate political dialogue and bilateral cooperation with the United Kingdom, according to a press release from the Bucharest diplomacy. The visit’s agenda includes meetings with her British counterpart, Yvette Cooper, with members of the inter-parliamentary group for Romania and with representatives of the Romanian community in London. At the same time, Oana Ţoiu will pay a visit to Oxford University, where there is a Romanian language lectureship, financed by the Government of Romania, a project integrated within the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics of the prestigious academic institution.
OLYMPICS – Romania will have three athletes in today’s competitions at the Winter Olympics in Italy, held between February 6-22. Corina Buzăţoiu will compete in the individual luge, and Daniel Cacina and Mihnea Spulber will ski jump on the normal springboard. At the 25th edition of the Winter Olympics, Romania is represented by 29 athletes, in nine disciplines. The President of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, Mihai Covaliu, believes that only the men’s bobsleigh crew could claim a medal, given that Romania is not, traditionally, a force in winter sports. On the eve of the games’ opening, among the sports personalities designated to carry the Olympic torch on the last part of the route was also the coach of the Internazionale Milano football team, the current leader of the Italian championship, Romanian Cristian Chivu.
MESSAGE – Romanian Head of State, Nicuşor Dan, congratulated Portugal’s President-elect, Antonio José Seguro, on Monday, and stressed in the message the friendship that binds the two countries, based on cultural heritage, linguistic affinities and living human ties. The moderate socialist won the second round of the presidential elections in Portugal on Sunday, clearly defeating his far-right opponent, André Ventura. At the beginning of March, he is expected to succeed conservative Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who has been in office for ten years.
INVITE – Romanian President Nicuşor Dan announced that he had received an invitation to participate in the first meeting of the Board of Peace, to be held in Washington on February 19. He said that Bucharest welcomes the White House’s efforts to promote peace and that the decision on participation will be made following consultations with American partners to clarify the compatibility of the Board of Peace Charter with the international commitments already assumed by the Romanian state. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close confidant of Donald Trump, who signed the founding document of the Board in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, has already announced his presence at the meeting. However, most important countries have declined the invitation or announced that they are reviewing it. In order to acquire permanent membership, an invited state must pay a fee of 1 billion dollars. Romania has also received an invitation to join this international body, but has not yet responded.
(EE)
