March 13, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 13.03.2026, 20:00
BUDGET The 2026 state budget and social security budget bills will be submitted for the final vote in the joint plenary session of the Romanian Parliament next Thursday. The joint permanent bureaus of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate Friday approved the timeline for the debate and endorsement of these draft laws. The main challenge, reducing the deficit to 6.2% of GDP, will be supported by ambitious cuts in government spending, by EUR 2 billion. On the other hand, investments will increase to a record EUR 34 billion, especially with funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the SAFE programme. Romania’s state budget also targets an economic growth rate of 1% and a 6.5% inflation rate at the end of the year.
UKRAINE The war in the Middle East will not give Russia a respite in its own conflict with Ukraine, the French president Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, during a visit to Paris by the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Macron said France’s support for Ukraine would remain firm and that he was determined to provide further military support to Ukraine. In turn, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US relief on Russian oil sanctions does not help end the war and achieve peace in Ukraine. This single relief by the US could give Russia about USD 10 billion for the war. It certainly does not help to achieve peace, Zelenskyy argued. On Thursday, he was in Bucharest, where together with Romania’s president Nicușor Dan he signed a strategic partnership agreement between the two countries.
ALERT The locals in Tulcea County, on Romania’s Ukrainian border area, received three extreme alert messages on Friday as the risks related to the war in Ukraine remain in place. The Ro-ALERT message announced the risk of falling objects and urged the population to take shelter in safe locations. Since the beginning of this year, residents of Tulcea County have received another 7 such messages related to the war initiated by Russia in Ukraine. In some cases the defence ministry announced cases of violation of Romania’s airspace.
FUEL PRICES Fuel prices continued to rise in Romania, with diesel and premium petrol prices already exceeding RON 9 per litre. The government cannot revert the increase, but it is monitoring prices in order to apply formulas to mitigate the impact, PM Ilie Bolojan said on Friday. He said the authorities are monitoring the situation, to ensure that the price increase stays well below the increase in the price of crude oil or diesel and petrol on international markets. On the other hand, the PM said, if the conflict continues and prices increase above a level that becomes alarming in the coming period, the authorities will take the measures in their power to mitigate the impact.
INFLATION The annual inflation rate in Romania fell to 9.3% in February, from 9.62% in January, the National Statistics Institute reports. The highest price increases over the last 12 months were in the services sector (11.37%) while non-foodstuff prices rose by 9.4% and foodstuffs by almost 7.9%. The INS also says electricity saw the highest price rises over the past year, by 57% in February 2026, compared to the corresponding month in 2025. Coffee became more expensive by over 25%, and rail transport services by 24%. There were also some price decreases, such as in the case of potatoes by almost 12%, natural gas by 5% and air transport services by 2.2%. Recently, the National Bank revised the inflation forecast for the end of 2026 upwards to 3.9%, and anticipates it will reach 2.7% at the end of 2027.
IRAN The Israeli army launched a new wave of attacks on the Iranian capital Tehran on Friday, with loud blasts heard on the 14th day of the war triggered by the Israeli-US attack on Iran, EFE and AFP report. The regional escalation has so far killed approximately 1,300 people and wounded 10,000, according to the Iranian authorities. Tehran retaliated with drone and missile attacks targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries that host US military resources, Turkey’s Anadolu news agency said. The agency also reports that sirens were heard on Friday at the NATO air base at Incirlik, in southeast Turkey. Almost 1,500 US troops are stationed at Incirlik, and the US has stored nuclear weapons, Reuters reported in January. Turkey, whose airspace has seen two missiles fired from Iran intercepted since the start of the Middle East war, announced on Wednesday that it had deployed a Patriot air defense system in its central territory. Earlier on Monday, Washington closed its consulate in Adana and asked US citizens to leave the region. On Friday morning, president Donald Trump issued a new warning to Tehran, hinting at new military action in the ongoing conflict, despite previous statements suggesting that the war with Iran could end soon, dpa reports. (AMP)
