March 22, 2026 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 22.03.2026, 20:00

COMMEMORATION – Belgium commemorated, on Sunday, ten years since the jihadist attacks of March 2016, in Brussels, France Presse reports. The ceremonies began at Brussels-Zaventem airport, with the participation of Prime Minister Bart De Wever, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde and then continued at the Maelbeek metro station, the second target of the terrorist attacks. The suicide bombings, the bloodiest in the history of Belgium, were claimed by the Islamic State, killed 32 people on March 22, ten years ago, and injured over 300. Four days earlier, Salah Abdeslam, a terrorist who had participated in the Paris attacks of November 13, 2015, which resulted in 130 deaths, had been arrested in the Belgian capital. His arrest accelerated the plans for new attacks by his Islamist cell.

FUEL – The situation of the fuel market, in the context of the conflict in the Middle East, was analyzed, at the end of the week, in Bucharest, by the Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan with the ministers of finance and energy, with representatives of the Ministry of Economy, the Fiscal Authority, the Competition Council and the National Agency for Public Procurement. The technical teams also worked over the weekend, and a new meeting is scheduled for the beginning of next week to finalize the solutions. The Prime Minister said that an arbitrary price cap can lead to shortages, and a possible decrease in excise duties must guarantee a reduction in prices, but also be bearable by the 2026 budget in the context of efforts to reduce the deficit. Ilie Bolojan emphasizes that he refuses to sell populist solutions, which would create the appearance of aid, but which would in fact generate new imbalances and costs. In Romania, fuel prices have set a new record, recording the highest increase since the beginning of the war. The price of standard gasoline has exceeded the 9 lei threshold in many gas stations, while a liter of standard diesel is approaching the psychological threshold of 10 lei (about 2 euros).

MIDDLE EAST – Iran has launched more than 400 ballistic missiles at Israel since the start of the war between the US and Israel on February 28, 92% of which were intercepted, the Israeli military said on Sunday. Iran had the largest stockpile of ballistic missiles in the Middle East before the war. This arsenal includes missiles of various types, with ranges that were believed not to exceed 2,000 kilometers, but on Friday two Iranian ballistic missiles were launched in the direction of the US-British base Diego Garcia, about 4,000 kilometers from Iran. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continues to be completely blocked by the Iranians, following the US-Israeli offensive. US President Donald Trump has threatened to strike Iranian power plants if Iran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas trade passes. Nearly 20 countries, including Romania, as well as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan, condemned – in a joint statement – the critical situation in the Strait of Hormuz and called on Iran to de-escalate the conflict, declaring themselves ready to contribute to the efforts needed to reopen the strait. Romanian President Nicuşor Dan said that Bucharest’s support for this initiative comes amid the serious implications that the closure of the strait has on global energy markets, as well as on the global economy.

PSD – The PSD National Permanent Bureau is meeting on Monday to establish the calendar of internal consultations, following which the Social Democrats will decide whether or not to remain in government. The party’s president, Sorin Grindeanu, recently stated that all options are being considered, with two exceptions. The PSD will not vote for a minority government and will not form an alliance with AUR. The PSD leader also said that the internal vote will probably be influenced by the latest developments and negotiations. On the other hand, next week, Sorin Grindeanu will have talks with the European Socialists in Brussels regarding the internal evaluation and functioning of the coalition. The liberals were also going to make an analysis of the ruling coalition this weekend, but the meeting was postponed. Recently, the PSD has repeatedly criticized the activity of the liberal Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan. The ruling coalition in Bucharest is made up of PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR. (EE)