January 29, 2026

A roundup of local and world news

Newsroom, 29.01.2026, 13:55

VISIT Romania’s PM Ilie Bolojan was in Berlin, where he discussed with the federal chancellor Friedrich Merz about bilateral cooperation in the field of defence and military industry and the diversifying of German investments in Romania. During the visit, the Romanian and German defence ministers Radu Miruţă and Boris Pistorius signed a memorandum on equipment procurement for the Romanian Army, funded under the European SAFE programme. Mr. Bolojan said that Romania seeks to strengthen cooperation with Germany in strategic areas such as energy, industry and defence, given that the world is going through a period of uncertainty. In turn, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the memorandum signed on this occasion proves that the two states jointly take responsibility for the security of Europe. Bolojan and Merz also discussed support for Ukraine, the European accession of the Republic of Moldova and Romania’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

FINANCES The government of Romania estimates that it will need EUR 55 billion in 2026 to cover a budget deficit that could exceed 6% of GDP and to refinance the public debt due this year. As a result, the Cabinet is looking to take out loans on the domestic market, to issue Eurobonds in foreign markets and contract low-interest loans under European Union programmes such as the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and SAFE.

CANDIDACY Romania, which seeks to host the head offices of the EU’s new Customs Agency, presented its candidacy in a hearing in the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday. Romania’s finance minister Alexandru Nazare insisted on the country’s experience in cyber-security, and on the fact that Bucharest is a European capital that has the required infrastructure. At the same time, with the establishment of the European Cyber Security Centre, Romania has proven that it can handle sensitive data. The new Customs Agency will monitor billions of parcels entering the bloc after the EU amended its legislation on previously tax-free parcels under EUR 150. In total, nine cities in nine EU member states are competing to host the headquarters of the EU Customs Agency. In Brussels, Alexandru Nazare also met with the European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis to discuss Romania’s budget deficit and the forecast for this year. Romania promised to keep its deficit at around 6% of GDP in 2026. In April, the European Commission will make public its first economic forecasts for this year in a report detailing the situation of each individual state.

CULTURE As of Thursday, Romania will be promoted in several capital cities around the world, in a tour of screenings and cultural events organised by the British writer and producer Charlie Ottley, jointly with the ministry of economy, digitisation, entrepreneurship and tourism and with support from the foreign ministry. According to a news release issued by the economy ministry, the tour includes screenings of Ottley’s documentary “Flavours of Romania” in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Chile, Peru, Colombia and the United Kingdom, followed by presentations and Q&A sessions, aimed at presenting the beauty and diversity of Romania to an international audience. For his part, Charlie Ottley emphasised that there are still too many misconceptions about Romania, and the only way to move past them them is to go out into the world and show people what an extraordinary country we have.

GRANTS The European Commission announced in a news release that it would earmark almost EUR 650 million in grants under the Connecting Europe Facility to help finance 14 cross-border energy infrastructure projects. One of the 14 projects to receive funding is CARMEN (Carpathian Modernised Energy Network), which aims to improve electricity market integration, support the large-scale integration of renewable sources and ensure energy security and flexibility in Romania and Bulgaria. A EUR 103 million grant will be awarded to this project. According to the European Commission, transmission and distribution networks will be modernised and digitised, to improve efficiency and enable secure flows of electricity from renewable sources. (AMP)