June 10, 2026
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 10.06.2026, 13:55
TALKS Romania’s Prime Minister-designate, Eugen Tomac, is carrying on talks in an attempt to forge a new government in Bucharest and is about to hold talks with Romania’s president, Nicusor Dan, and present the list to the ministers in his cabinet. Although the previous rounds of talks with Parliament parties ended without concrete promises, the Prime Minister-designate remains confident and is ready to call for an investment vote in Parliament early next week. We recall that a month since the dismissal of the government led by the Liberal Ilie Bolojan, Romania’s President, Nicusor Dan, last week designated Eugen Tomac for the position of Prime Minister. The head of the Romanian state explains that he has chosen a Prime Minister who is independent from the political parties as the only solution for overcoming the political crisis created because none of the political groups, which had been part of the ruling coalition before, would collaborate in the old formula, which might have ensured a Parliament majority. Eugen Tomac had for years led the People’s Movement, a political party, which failed to clear the Parliament threshold at the latest legislative election.
SANCTIONS Brussels on Tuesday presented the draft of the 21st sanctions package against Russia, one of the toughest so far. In the field of energy, the European Commission intends to freeze the caps on Russian oil at the present value of 60 dollars per barrel. Also another 30 ships carrying Russian oil have been added to the list, a move that brings the total number of tankers at roughly 660. Ships offering logistical support to this fleet are also being targeted by the new sanctions as well as critical infrastructure such as ports, airports and refineries. In the financial sector, the bloc expands sanctions against Russia’s banking system. 31 Russian banks are expected to have their transactions restricted. For the first time, the union introduces the possibility of totally banning crypto-services in third countries, which are facilitating sanction evading. At the same time, the EU-entrance of those who have been serving in the Russian army since the invasion of Ukraine has been banned.
CCR Romania’s Constitutional Court is today analyzing a notification by the Social-Democrat President of the Chamber of Deputies, Sorin Grindeanu, regarding a potential legal conflict between the government and Parliament triggered by an emergency ordinance of the European programme of investing in defence, SAFE, issued on May 26th. According to the notification, the law was published in the Official Gazette after the government had been sacked through a vote of no confidence and the interim government could not issue ordinances. The ordinance is regulating measures, which were under Parliament debates affecting the balance between the state powers. The ordinance had been previously challenged at the CCR by the nationalist opposition made up of AUR, SOS and PEACE but the court turned their appeal down.
TENNIS Romania’s tennis player, Sorana Cirstea, has qualified for the round of 16 of the WTA 500 tournament in Queen’s Club, with total prizes of 1,915,000 dollars, after a three-set win against Australian, Maddison Inglis in London. The seventh-seeded Cirstea will be playing the British challenger of Romanian descent, Emma Raducanu, for a place in the quarter finals. Another Romanian, Jaqueline Cristian has qualified for the round of 16 and will be up against another British player, Katie Boulter.
DRONES In a telephone conversation with European Council President António Costa, Romania’s President Nicusor Dan called for the serious incident caused by the Russian drone in Galaţi (southeastern Romania) to be addressed in the conclusions of next week’s European Council meeting in Brussels. The head of state says these tactics by Russia are intolerable and must be firmly condemned. Meanwhile, The General Prosecutor’s Office announced on Tuesday that it had expanded the investigation into the maritime drone that exploded in the Port of Constanța on the Black Sea to include charges of destruction resulting in particularly serious consequences, in addition to the initial charges of violating regulations governing weapons, ammunition, and explosive materials.
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