July 26, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 26.07.2026, 18:54
Drones. Romanian President Nicușor Dan said this morning that a new drone was shot down by an F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force over Romania’s territorial waters, in the Sulina-Chilia area in the Danube Delta, near the border with Ukraine, which has been invaded by Russian troops. This is the third drone shot down this week, following incidents on Friday and Saturday in Buzău County and the Danube Delta. The president said the drone intercepted on Friday was of Russian origin and added that Romania is preparing an official note of protest to the Russian Federation. According to defence ministry data, 33 incursions by Russian drones into Romanian airspace have been reported since the start of the war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, as well as around 50 cases when drone parts were identified on Romanian territory. This year alone, 18 unauthorised incursions into Romanian airspace were recorded, and three of the drones were shot down by Romanian Air Force F-16 aircraft.
Wildfire. French President Emmanuel Macron posted a message on X thanking Romania for the assistance provided by Romanian firefighters in battling the devastating wildfires in the southwest France. In a subsequent message, Macron added Croatia, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia to the list of nations contributing to the efforts of French emergency services. “This is Europe. In times of crisis, it brings to life the solidarity on which it is founded,” said the French president, quoted by the Romanian media.
Parliament. On Monday, Romanian senators and deputies are holding an extraordinary session to debate the bills needed to meet the milestones laid down in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan whose deadline is 31st August, as agreed by the Romanian government with the European Commission. Senate speaker and Liberal Party MP Mircea Abrudean says Parliament may pass five out of six bills. The law on unified public sector wages, which is strongly opposed by trade unions, will not be included on the agenda because the parties in the former governing coalition (the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania) are yet to reach an agreement on its final version. According to the local media, presidential advisor Radu Burnete, who is facilitating dialogue between the former political partners, estimates that another one or two weeks of negotiations are needed.
Wealth. Over the past five years, Romania has recorded one of the highest growth rates, at 93%, in the number of super-rich residents (people whose personal wealth exceeds 30 million dollars), currently numbering 749 such millionaires. This figure is expected to rise to approximately 1,120 by 2031. Within Europe, Romania’s growth pace is comparable to Turkey’s, trailing only Poland, where the number of such millionaires has doubled in the last five years. Estimates suggest that Romania will be among the European countries with the fastest-growing number of super-rich people, a number expected to rise by 50% in the following years, alongside Poland, Sweden, and Greece. This forecast growth rate would place the country eighth globally for the 2026–2031 period, according to the Knight Frank 2026 report cited by the Romanian business press. Globally, there are approximately 700,000 individuals with a net worth exceeding 30 million dollars. North America accounts for 37% of the total number of super-rich people, followed by the Asia-Pacific region with nearly 31%, and Europe in third place, with a quarter of the world’s wealthiest people. (CM)
