July 31, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 31.07.2026, 20:00
DANUBE The government of Romania has declared a nation-wide state of alert for the month of August, as a result of a drop in the electricity output caused by drought and low water flows on rivers, especially on the Danube, said the caretaker PM Ilie Bolojan, who also serves as interim energy minister. He said the water level in the supply area of the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant (southeast) has dropped, which led to the shutdown of one reactor and a fall in the energy production capacity. The PM warned that there is a “fairly high” risk that the plant’s second reactor will also be shut down, which would mean a loss of approximately 20% of electricity output at national level. Currently, Romania imports some 1,700 megawatts per day, and if the Cernavoda second unit were also stopped, imports would exceed 2,500 megawatts, Bolojan also said. An extreme drought has hit the entire Danube basin. The water flow has dramatically decreased, disrupting energy production, navigation, agriculture and tourism. Experts warn that the situation will worsen in the coming days, when the river flow at the entrance to Romania will drop below 1,600 cubic meters per second, almost 3 times lower than the multi-annual average for the month. The lowest flow recorded on the Danube in the last 41 years, 1,400 cubic meters per second, was in 1985.
HEALTHCARE The Sanitas trade union federation says it cut short its all-out strike pending the endorsement of a new law on public sector wages. In a Facebook post, Sanitas said the strike had achieved its goal, namely to raise awareness about the situation in the public healthcare and social assistance systems. Also, the endorsement of the public sector wage bill has been postponed, at the very least. The federation also said it obtained a court ruling confirming that as a caretaker government, Ilie Bolojan’s cabinet does not have the political authority to draft and submit legislation. Union members also mentioned the approval of an amendment allowing for the filling in of vacant positions in the healthcare system, within the limitations of the budget. Trade unions have announced two new goals: negotiating a different wage bill and holding talks with a political authority that has legal decision-making power, either Parliament or a legitimately appointed government. For 3 days, approx. 480 hospitals across the country handled only emergency cases and about one-third of their usual medical services.
WILDFIRES Between August 1 and September 15, a Romanian unit specialising in forest fire-fighting will take part in a pre-positioning programme in Greece organised by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. The first contingent, comprising 40 fire-fighters and technical equipment, left on Thursday and will be stationed in Nea Makri, in the Attica region, approx. 25 km north-east of Athens. Personnel rotations are scheduled for August 16 and 31, when two additional units, each consisting of 40 fire-fighters, will take over duties from the personnel currently on mission near the Greek capital. Meanwhile, a new unit of Romanian fire-fighters, the third one so far, is assisting colleagues in France in their battle with wildfires, following Romania’s decision to extend its participation in this support mission by another two weeks. The personnel rotation will take place on August 1, when 40 Romanian fire-fighters will take on operational responsibilities from their colleagues from the current rotation.
NATO Spain is deploying a unit of around 200 military from its Air and Space Force to the Mihail Kogălniceanu air base in Romania (south-eastern Romania, near the Black Sea) to contribute to the NATO air policing mission there. The Spanish defence ministry announced that the unit will have 7 fighter jets available throughout the mission’s 4-month duration. During the first 2 months, the Spanish troops will be supported by an aerial refuelling tanker, while 3 helicopters designed to counter drones will also be deployed to Romania for the final phase.
INTEGRITY A new bill concerning the integrity of civil servants was tabled on Friday in Bucharest, after a previous draft was dismissed on Thursday in the Senate. The old draft eliminates the obligation for elected officials to declare cash incomes and assets owned by their spouses. At the same time, officials found in conflicts of interests were to lose their position, even if the act occurred before the law took effect. The Senate speaker Mircea Abrudean said the new document complies with the Constitution and asked the Social-Democrats, the Liberals’ former governing partners, to stop submitting unconstitutional amendments that allow for the concealment of assets. The Social Democratic leader Sorin Grindeanu replied that the amendments lodged by his party were aimed to improve the bill. Romania risks losing EUR 770 million under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan if it fails to endorse this draft law by the end of August.
FOOTBALL The Romanian football team CFR Cluj comfortably qualified for the third qualifying round of the Conference League after defeating the Armenian side FC Alashkert 3-0 (2-nil) at home on Thursday evening in the second leg of the competition’s second qualifying round. Meanwhile, CFR’s local rival, Universitatea, were eliminated by the Norwegian side Brann Bergen, who defeated them 3-1 following a 2-all draw in Cluj. FCSB were also eliminated, losing 1-4 to Auda in Latvia after a 2–3 defeat in Bucharest. On Wednesday, Romania’s football champions, Universitatea Craiova, were eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers after a 2-all home draw against the Bulgarian side Levski Sofia in the second leg of the second round. The Bulgarians had won the first leg 1-nil in Sofia the previous week. Craiova will now face the Finnish team KuPS Kuopio in the third qualifying round of the Europa League. (AMP)
