June 14, 2026 UPDATE

A roundup of local and world news

Newsroom, 14.06.2026, 20:00

PRIME MINISTER The decree under which President Nicuşor Dan designates the National Liberal Party senior vice-president Adrian Veştea for the prime minister post was published in the Official Journal on Sunday. Under the Constitution, Veştea has 10 days to present a government programme and a list of Cabinet ministers. The president voiced his confidence that Adrian Veştea will successfully fulfill the mission entrusted to him. The new PM-designate said in turn that he takes responsibility for the job at a time of political crisis, expressed his belief that he will form a team with solid support in Parliament as soon as possible, and said he wants a political government that will make real reforms and keep Romania on a pro-Western path. President Nicuşor Dan nominated Adrian Veştea after Eugen Tomac stepped down as prime minister-designate. The constitutional deadline for Eugen Tomac to present Parliament with his governing programme and list of Cabinet ministers was Sunday, but he failed to convince the political parties in Parliament to support him.

POLITICAL RESPONSE The National Liberal Party has called a meeting of the party’s Political Bureau on Monday, after its president and interim PM Ilie Bolojan said president Nicuşor Dan had not informed the Liberals of the nomination of their fellow Liberal Adrian Veştea for the prime minister position. Ilie Bolojan described the president’s announcement as a hostile move and an obvious attempt to break up the party, an opinion shared by many leading liberals. But a growing number of Liberals voice support for Adrian Veştea. In an online message, he said his nomination for prime minister designate was not a threat to National Liberal Party, but a moment of responsibility. Save Romania Union and Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) have scheduled meetings on Sunday to decide whether or not to support the newly designated prime minister. The Social Democratic Party is expected to vote in favour of a Liberal PM who is not Ilie Bolojan, as they have repeatedly stated. And the nationalist AUR party in opposition calls for early elections. On May 5, Ilie Bolojan’s Cabinet was dismissed by Parliament following a no-confidence vote, after the Social Democratic Party, previously a member of the ruling coalition jointly with the Liberals, Save Romania Union and UDMR, withdrew its confidence in the Liberal PM, who chose not to resign. During the discussions with the head of state in order to find a solution to the ensuing political crisis, none of the parties that had previously formed a coalition were willing to work together in the old formula, which would have secured a stable majority in Parliament. As a result, president Nicușor Dan originally designated a prime minister not affiliated to parliamentary parties, Eugen Tomac, and the Liberal Adrian Veștea on Sunday.

UKRAINE On Saturday night, Russia carried out new drone attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania. According to the Romanian defence ministry, 2 Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft, part of the Air Police Combat Service, took off from Base 57 Mihail Kogălniceanu (SE Romania), to monitor the situation. No unauthorised drone entry or impact with the ground were reported. Also, civilians in northern Tulcea County, on the Romanian border with Ukraine, Saturday night received a new RO-Alert message informing them about the possibility of falling objects and urging them to take protection measures. The alert was in place about 90 minutes. Recently, a Ukrainian maritime drone went off in the largest Romanian Black Sea port city, Constanta, where it damaged a berth. The drone had been allegedly hijacked by Russia. Another drone, this time a Russian one, fell on an apartment building in Galați, a Romanian Danube port city, in an incident that left two people injured.  

DONORS Sunday was World Blood Donor Day. According to official data, in Romania the number of those who choose to do this is increasing. Last year at the Blood Transfusion Centre in Bucharest, 62,000 donations were made and over 44,000 unique donors were registered. Specialists emphasise that donated blood is critical for cancer patients, victims of traffic accidents and in complex surgery. To mark World Blood Donor Day, information and awareness raising events were held in Bucharest, including a motorcycle parade promoting blood donation, and the symbolic colour lighting of some buildings.

EU ENLARGEMENT The Republic of Moldova and Ukraine will begin accession negotiations with the European Union on Monday, after ambassadors from all 27 member states agreed on the matter on Friday evening. EU leaders agreed in December 2023 to open accession negotiations with Chisinau and Kyiv, but the talks could not actually start because of the opposition of the former Hungarian government. Intergovernmental conferences will be held as of Monday with the two candidate countries, which will negotiate policy chapters in six theme groups and will have to adjust their legislation and bring it up to EU standards. Kyiv and Chisinau officially requested to join the EU shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. (AMP)