July 30, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 30.07.2026, 20:00
PARLIAMENT The Senate of Romania convened on Thursday to vote on the bills related to the PNRR, already endorsed on Wednesday by the Chamber of Deputies. The EUR 16.6 billion SAFE loan agreement between the European Union and Romania was endorsed, along the new Urban Planning Code and the decarbonisation law. The Senate dismissed however the civil service integrity law, which operated changes regarding statements of interest and incompatibility situations for civil servants. The Senators proposed that cash incomes no longer be declared, and that assets owned by spouses be kept secret. At the same time, officials found in conflict of interests would lose their positions, even if the act occurred before the law was enforced. The Senate speaker Mircea Abrudean announced that he had called for a new extraordinary session between August 4 and 6, for the approval of the National Strategy for Biodiversity Conservation, another key milestone in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, worth approximately EUR 1 billion.
VISIT President Nicuşor Dan Thursday received the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Vasile Tofan, who was on an official visit to Bucharest. On this occasion, president Dan reconfirmed Romania’s firm and consistent support for Chisinau’s European accession efforts. PM Vasile Tofan, on his first foreign trip since taking office, expressed his gratitude for the constant and unconditional support offered by Romania. He also met with his counterpart Ilie Bolojan, who stated that Bucharest will remain Moldova’s strongest supporter at EU level, making available its experience as a member state and providing political and diplomatic support. Ilie Bolojan also said that the talks focused on the bilateral cooperation agenda in areas such as energy, transport, education, culture, and the environment. According to the interim PM, the discussions also focused on the regional and international situation, marked by major challenges and threats in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
PETROL The Chamber of Deputies Wednesday passed a draft law that provides for the temporary and gradual cut of excise duties on diesel, depending on market developments. The measure, aimed at reducing the recently growing retail prices, can be applied for three months, with possible extensions. The cut will be operated during periods of crisis and will be deactivated by default when the conditions are no longer met. The bill also introduces a solidarity contribution, limiting the exports of petroleum products and reducing the amount of biofuel in fuels. The bill must be signed into law by the president before it can take effect.
WILDFIRES Wild fires are affecting more and more European countries around the Mediterranean, with strong winds and very high temperatures making them hard to control. After France, Spain, and Greece, scores of fires broke out on Wednesday in tourist regions in the south and west of Turkey. In Greece, two fire-fighters lost their lives trying to put out a fire on the island of Crete. Several outbreaks are spreading in Greece as violent winds reach 80 km per hour. Wild fires have also ravaged the islands of Paros and Lesbos, as well as the regions of Messinia and Laconia in the Peloponnese peninsula. Romania’s foreign ministry urges Romanian nationals to avoid the affected areas and follow the instructions of the Greek authorities. In France, the situation remains critical with the return of the heat wave and wind. A new unit of Romanian fire-fighters, the third one so far, has already arrived to help their French colleagues.
NATO Italian, Spanish and Turkish air forces will deploy fighter jets to help protect and strengthen NATO airspace along the Eastern Flank, the North Atlantic Alliance announced on Thursday. Spain will deploy 7 F-18 fighter jets and 3 NH-90 helicopters to the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in southeastern Romania, tasked with counter-drone missions. 200 members of the Spanish Air Force will also be sent to the same base. The Romanian army’s F-16 fighter jets, deployed in Lithuania to protect the Baltic airspace in March 2026, will return to the country. The Italian Air Force will send 4 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft and over 100 military personnel to Lithuania, while Turkey will participate for the first time in this new air defence mission by deploying approx. 80 personnel and 5 F-16 aircraft to Estonia. NATO says the new air defence mission follows the enhanced vigilance activities launched last September, and is intended to strengthen integrated air and missile defence across the Alliance. The moves come after 3 drones that illegally entered Romania’s national airspace were shot down in three consecutive days by Romanian Air Force F-16 aircraft at the end of last week. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian drones have violated Romanian airspace more than 30 times.
FENCING The Romanian men’s sabre team, comprising Vlad Covaliu, George Dragomir, Radu Niţu, and Răzvan Ursachi, won the bronze at the World Fencing Championships in Hong Kong on Thursday, after defeating Hungary 45-39 in the 3rd place final. Romania, also a bronze medallist at the World Championships in Tbilisi last year, went straight into the second round, with a win over Great Britain, 45-17. Romania ends the competition with two bronze medals, one of them won by Radu Niţu in the men’s individual sabre and another by the men’s sabre team. (AMP)
