March 25, 2026 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 25.03.2026, 20:00

FUEL – The emergency order regarding the fuel crisis will be adopted, on Thursday, by the government in Bucharest. The document received, on Wednesday, a negative opinion from the Economic and Social Council, and only the employers’ associations showed up at the three-party Council convened by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan. The large unions refused the invitation, accusing the executive of only mimicking the consultation of the social partners in the context of the energy crisis caused by the new war in the Middle East. The Prime Minister claims that the emergency order will have as principles the sharing of costs between the government, the private sector and citizens and the adoption of intervention solutions with minimal collateral effects in the market, solutions that are transparent and easy to apply. The order will declare a state of crisis in the fuel sector, limit diesel exports and the commercial markup of companies in the sector, and create a mechanism that will prevent the artificial increase in fuel prices.

ENERGY – Romania is ready to act as a guarantor of energy security, with the entry into production, next year, of the offshore Neptun Deep project, for extracting gas from the Black Sea, the Speaker of the Senate in Bucharest, Mircea Abrudean, said on Wednesday, at the Parliamentary Summit of the Three Seas Initiative (I3M) in Croatia. “At the same time, strengthening connectivity with the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine remains a priority. For us, the resilience and competitiveness of the Three Seas region are inextricably linked to those of the European Union as a whole”, Abrudean also said. I3M aims to develop infrastructure on the north-south axis in the transport, energy and digital sectors and to reduce the gaps between the states of Central and East Europe and the rest of the continent. The platform was launched in 2021.

MOLDOVA – Moldova’s Parliament has approved a 60-day state of emergency in the energy sector, after Russian attacks in neighboring Ukraine knocked out a power line that supplies most of the country’s energy needs. Lawmakers approved the measure proposed by Moldova’s pro-European government, with 72 votes in favor in the 101-member parliament. The opposition, made up of socialists and communists, refused to support the measure. The Isaccea-Vulcăneşti line carries electricity from Romania to Moldova, crossing 40 km of Ukrainian territory.

SUMMIT – An official delegation from Romania is attending in Washington D.C. the opening summit of a global coalition dedicated to children’s digital education, held at the initiative of the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, who extended an invitation to the partner of the Romanian president, Mirabela Grădinaru. On Tuesday, during her official trip to Washington, the latter met Lisa Choate, the president of the American Councils for International Education, an organisation that runs educational exchange programmes with Romania (FLEX and FLEX Abroad programmes), as well as professional development initiatives for the public and private sectors, according to a press release issued by americancouncils.org. The Romanian delegation also included the Romanian ambassador to Washington, Andrei Muraru, rector Remus Pricopie, and presidential advisors Diana Punga and Ana-Maria Geană. During the meeting, Mirabela Grădinaru said that Romania’s partnership with the United States is not rhetorical – it is built on trust, and trust is built on people. Every FLEX graduate who ends up working in government, the military, or public life brings knowledge about America that cannot be learned from a textbook. This is a strategic asset for both countries, and Romania’s co-investment in this programme reflects this belief.

FOOTBALL – The Romanian national football squad will face Turkey on Thursday in Istanbul in the play-offs for the 2026 World Cup. If they win, the Romanians will then play the play-off final, away, against the winner of the match between Slovakia and Kosovo, on March 31. The Romanians have played 8 matched against Turkey so far, winning two and drawing in four matches, according to the website of the Romanian Football Federation. Romania last qualified for a World Cup tournament in 1998, when the competition was hosted by France. (EE)