July 9, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 09.07.2026, 20:12
TALKS Romanian President Nicuşor Dan has invited the leaders of the former governing coalition—the PSD, PNL, USR, and UDMR—to further talks in an effort to resolve the political crisis. The meeting will take place on Monday, as the president stated that he “does not feel that a solution is emerging” for the formation of a government with full powers. He reiterated that the responsibility for forming a majority does not lie with him, but with the parties, which should feel the pressure from the people. Nicuşor Dan recalled that the two previous nominations, Eugen Tomac and Adrian Veştea, were made following discussions with political leaders, stressing that in both cases he had reasonable expectations that they would pass through Parliament without the support of the AUR (a nationalist, extremist party). The leaders of the former governing coalition have not yet changed their positions regarding the formation of a government, while AUR representatives argue that the current crisis is being artificially prolonged by a new round of negotiations and insist on early parliamentary elections.
FOOTBALL Romania’s football champions Universitatea Craiova clinched a 4-1 win against the Belarusian team ML Vitebsk in Mezokovesd, Hungary on Wednesday, in the first round of the first qualifying leg of the Champions League. The return match will be played on July 15 at home. If it beats ML Vitebsk, Universitatea Craiova will be up against the winner of the match pitching Borac Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina) against PFC Levski Sofia (Bulgaria) in the second qualifying leg of the Champions League. The two teams tied 1-1 in Banja Luka in the first round.
FESTIVAL Over 90 thousand people participated in the first day of the Beach Please! Festival underway in the Romanian Black Sea resort of Costinesti. Among the bands and artists participating in the event were Killa Fonic, Albert NBN, Vanilla, Lazy Ed, Petre Stefan and Rava. Besides music the artists have conveyed powerful messages about responsibility and the anti-drug prevention component was a major part of a campaign entitled ‘Keep Your Memories Clean’. Concurrently, the official opening of the Nibiru resort, the biggest private investment in entertainment on the Romanian Black Sea coast, took place. Nibiru will remain open throughout the summer, as a travel destination and a venue for international festivals and concerts offered by Romanian and foreign artists. Over 30 thousand foreign tourists have this year decided to participate in the aforementioned festival, coming from countries like Great Britain, Norway, Germany, Italy and Bulgaria.
MAGISTRATES Romania’s Court of Cassation and Justice has postponed for July 23rd its ruling in the trial over the huge sums of money the government in Bucharest has to retroactively pay to magistrates. If the Executive loses, it has only 10 days left to provide the money. Otherwise, the record penalties established by the court will cost the state budget the equivalent of 9 million Euros a day. The dispute broke out in spring after the government had postponed the outstanding payment retroactively calculated since 2018. The Supreme Court has sued the Executive and the Court of Appeal in Bucharest ruled in its favour forcing the government to provide the necessary money including through budget adjustment.
ECONOMY Romania’s economy contracted by 1.2% on a gross basis in the first three months of this year, compared with the same period in 2025, and by 1.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to provisional data released today by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). The estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2026 was 499.738 billion lei at current prices in nominal terms, and in real terms, down 1.1% compared to the first quarter of 2025. On a gross basis, the estimated GDP for the first quarter of 2026 was 405.907 billion lei at current prices, down—in real terms—by 1.2% compared to the first quarter of 2025.
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