June 12, 2026
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 12.06.2026, 13:55
Government. The interim government in Bucharest is analysing and adopting a series of decisions for the proper administrative functioning of the state. The government formed by the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and led by the Liberal Ilie Bolojan, dismissed in May by a motion of censure, does not have the constitutional right to issue orders or to draft laws to send to Parliament for debate and adoption. The only pieces of legislation that can be approved relate to improving the absorption of funds under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and clarifying some aspects of the European SAFE program, dedicated to the defense industries of EU countries. In the meantime, the prime minister designate Eugen Tomac is determined to go ahead with the formation of his government of technocrats and remains optimistic about the vote in parliament next week, despite the Liberals’ refusal to support his cabinet. Interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, the president of the National Liberal Party, says a technocratic government has no chance of survival. The Social Democrats make their support conditional on the elimination of austerity measures, and the Save Romania Union is to decide today whether to support the Tomac cabinet. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania is expected to make an official decision early next week, but the party’s leaders have already stated that they do not believe in the idea of a technocratic government.
Inflation. The annual inflation rate in Romania rose to 10.85% in May, from 10.71% in April. Services rose by over 13.5%, non-food goods by around 12.5%, and food products by almost 7%, according to data published on Friday by the National Institute of Statistics. The National Bank of Romania expects an inflation rate of 5.5% for the end of 2026 and 2.9% at the end of 2027. The World Bank has revised downwards its forecasts for the growth of the Romanian economy, which is expected to register zero growth this year, compared to a 1.3% growth forecast in January. According to the institution’s latest report, published on Thursday, Romania’s GDP growth is expected to reach 1.7% next year and 2% in 2028. Since January, forecasts have worsened in Romania, Turkey, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, mainly driven by the commodity price shock, the report shows.
Violence. All Romanian citizens who reported being victims of violent incidents amid the recent protests in Belfast, Northern Ireland, are safe. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, they received support from the local police or relatives and friends and were temporarily relocated. The ministry received requests for consular assistance that targeted about 20 Romanian citizens, adults and minors and one European Union citizen, a family member of a Romanian national. At the same time, consular assistance was provided to Romanian citizens who requested to return to Romania and who did not have valid travel documents. The homes of three Romanian families were vandalised during the violence in Belfast, amid anti-immigration protests in the wake of a knife attack committed by a Sudanese refugee on a local resident.
Football. Thursday evening saw the start of a new edition of the World Cup, jointly hosted by the three North American countries: Mexico, the United States and Canada. The Arena Azteca in Mexico City hosted the third opening match of a world championship, a record, after the 1970 and 1986 editions. Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 in the opening match. On Friday, in the same group, South Korea beat the Czech Republic 2-1. Romania did not qualify for the World Cup, their latest participation dating back to 1998, when the host country was France. (CM)
