June 15, 2026 UPDATE 1
The latest news from RRI
Newsroom, 15.06.2026, 20:00
Talks – In Romania, the National Liberal Party (PNL) leadership gathered on Monday in an extended meeting to discuss the situation created following the nomination by the head of state, Nicușor Dan, of the Liberal First Vice-President Adrian Veștea for the position of Prime Minister. President Dan’s decision, which was not previously communicated to the Liberals, caused tensions in the party. Interim Prime Minister and PNL leader Ilie Bolojan, whose government was dismissed by Parliament on May 5, through a motion of no confidence, described the president’s gesture as a hostile act, intended to cause a rift in the party. In turn, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) President Sorin Grindeanu stated that he is waiting to meet with the Prime Minister designate to discuss the program and the governing team that he will propose. He considers the designation made by Nicușor Dan constitutional. And the Save Romania Union (USR) is willing to be part of a minority Government alongside the PNL, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) and the minorities, but will not vote for a Government that also includes the PSD, the party’s president, Dominic Fritz, said on Monday. Adrian Veştea’s appointment came after presidential advisor Eugen Tomac failed to obtain a majority for a technocratic cabinet.
Ruling – The Bucharest Military Tribunal decided on Monday to acquit the former heads of the Gendarmerie involved in the violent repression of protesters at the anti government demonstration of August 2018. The three had been tried for abuse of office. Other officers and non commissioned officers from the Bucharest Gendarmerie who took part in the repression of the protesters were also acquitted or received suspended sentences. The decision is not final and can be appealed. In 2023, the former Gendarmerie chiefs were sent to trial by prosecutors from the Military Section of the General Prosecutor’s Office in the case concerning the August 10, 2018 protest, with more than 300 injured persons joining the case as civil parties. According to the investigation, Colonel Laurențiu Cazan, as commander of the operation, along with Gheorghe Cucoș and Ionuț Sindile, as coordinators, carried out their duties improperly and ordered the gendarmes under their command to intervene by force to disperse the entire crowd of protesters gathered near the government building — around 30,000 people — an intervention they later also directed. Prosecutors argued that the use of force by the gendarmes against the entire mass of protesters was unlawful and unjustified, and that the use of equipment such as rubber batons, protective shields, tear gas sprays, acoustic and tear gas grenades, large capacity sprayers, and cartridges could be considered an “inhuman” and “degrading” treatment.
EU Accession – The Republic of Moldova and Ukraine are, as of Monday, one important step closer to European integration, after all EU member states voted last week to begin the first intergovernmental accession conferences. The key argument, that made this start to actual accession negotiations possible, was that both the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine managed to implement enough reforms, even though one has been facing Russian aggression on its territory for more than four years, while the other is suffering the effects of the war in the neighboring country and is defending itself, also against Russia, but in a different kind of conflict – a hybrid war marked by repeated attempts to alter the course desired by most Moldovan citizens. Chișinău and Kyiv officially requested to join the EU shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Mine hunter – The mine hunter M 271 ‘Captain Constantin Dumitrescu’, with a crew of 44 military sailors, left the Romanian port of Constanţa on Monday to participate, for two weeks, in the 10th activation of the Operational Group for Combating Marine Mines in the Black Sea. According to a press release from the Defense Ministry, along with the Romanian ship, the group also includes two ships belonging to the Turkish Naval Forces, as well as one from the Bulgarian Naval Forces. ‘During the period 15-18 June, the four ships will participate in the multinational exercise ‘Eurasian Partnership Mine Countermeasure Dive 2026’, organized by the Romanian Naval Forces, under the coordination of the 39th Divers Center,’ the press release also states.
G7 – The G7 leaders gathered at a lakeside resort in France on Monday, shortly after the United States and Iran announced they had reached a deal to end their war. Discussing the next steps on Iran is one of several topics that global leaders will grapple with during the June 15-17 summit, which will also seek common ground on the war in Ukraine, global economic imbalances and sourcing critical minerals from outside its main supplier, China. U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with leaders in the Middle East and hold a working session with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the summit. The meeting with Zelensky comes as Russian advances in Ukraine have slowed and Kyiv seeks more military support from its allies, Reuters reports. (LS)
