June 20, 2026
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 20.06.2026, 13:55
Liberal Party – The candidacies for the leadership of the National Liberal Party (PNL) in Romania can be submitted until Saturday afternoon, based on motions promoted by the virtual president together with his team. The current leader, Ilie Bolojan, has already said that he will run for a new term at the party’s helm, while the prime minister designate, dissident Adrian Veştea, who had announced his intention to run against Bolojan, has stated that he will no longer enter the competition. The election of the new leadership team will take place at the PNL congress on Sunday, and the party’s strategy for the following period will be decided. Also on Sunday, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) convened a meeting of the National Political Council, to make a decision regarding the support for the new executive, which it conditions on the introduction in the governing program of measures to protect the population and re-launch the economy.
PNRR – Romania has successfully completed technical negotiations with the European Commission on the latest amendment to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and is keeping over 20 billion Euros of the non-refundable money component, announced the interim minister of investments and European projects in the Romanian government, Dragoş Pîslaru. He argued that, despite the adjustment of some indicators and the reformulation of some milestones, the essential objectives of the reforms and investments undertaken were preserved, while major risks of penalties, which could have amounted to billions of Euros lost, were eliminated. Following the discussions, the minister also said, concrete solutions were obtained for important projects in infrastructure, health, energy, digitalization, education and the environment, and mechanisms were agreed upon that allow the recognition of the progress already made, so that they can be fully implemented by the deadline of August 31. More details on this subject will be communicated at the beginning of next week, Pîslaru also said.
Sentence – The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) states that it has been following since December 2024 the case of the Romanian sentenced on Friday by a Russian court to 15 years in prison for providing Ukraine, invaded by Moscow’s troops, with information about the location of air defense systems in the city of Sochi, on the Black Sea. ‘During this period, steps were taken both through the Romanian Embassy in Moscow and at the level of the Romanian Foreign Ministry, to protect the rights of the Romanian citizen within the framework established by the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963). From the information communicated by the Romanian diplomatic mission in Moscow, the decision to sentence the Romanian citizen to 15 years of imprisonment with execution remained final on June 19, 2026, by rejecting the appeal. The information has not yet been officially notified by the Russian authorities’, a statement from the MAE states. According to the cited source, despite repeated steps by the MAE, the Russian authorities did not give their consent to the visit of the Romanian citizen in prison by representatives of the Romanian diplomatic mission in Moscow, as part of the consular assistance steps, nor to the possibility of him corresponding with his family. The MAE, through the Consular Office Department is in permanent contact with the family of the Romanian citizen. The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes that it will continue the necessary steps, which are binding to the Romanian state, to provide consular assistance and equally binding to the Russian Federation, established by the aforementioned treaty.
Arson – Two people, of Romanian and Ukrainian origin, have been sentenced in London to two and seven years in prison respectively for attempted arson attacks on properties linked to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. One of the fires targeted the Labor Party leader’s former residence. The fire damaged the entrance to the house, where Starmer lived before moving to his official residence at 10 Downing Street and which was occupied at the time by his sister-in-law and her family. Another fire targeted a car that had previously belonged to Starmer. Ukrainian Roman Lavrinovici, 22, and Romanian-born Ukrainian Stanislav Carpiuc (27) acted on orders given on the Telegram network by a Russian-speaking contact, identified as “EL” during the trial and registered on their phones as “El Money”. According to a press investigation, “EL” is a young Russian diplomat, Yevgeny Lyukshin, close to the highest levels of power in Moscow and the son of a high-ranking official. He had posted messages on Telegram groups aimed at Russian and Ukrainian speakers looking for work in London.
Sibiu – The 33rd edition of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival (central Romania) continues. Today, the second performance of the show ‘Sex, Money and Hunger’, made in Krakow, Poland, by the well-known Belgian director Luk Perceval, will be presented to the public. Also today, the show ‘Metamorphosis’, directed by the Russian Yuri Kordonsky, will be presented. Other festival highlights today include a flying trapeze show and a concert by local band Bere Gratis. The second day of the festival brings artists from almost 20 countries to the stage, who present dozens of captivating shows, many free, outdoors or broadcast online. (LS)
