March 27, 2026
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 27.03.2026, 13:55
VISIT The PM of Slovakia, Robert Fico, is on an official visit to Romania today. He will be received by president Nicuşor Dan and will have talks with his counterpart Ilie Bolojan. The two prime ministers will have a tete-a-tete meeting, followed by a plenary meeting of the delegations. They will also attend the official ceremony in which a memorandum of understanding on cooperation will be signed by the culture ministries of the two countries. Later this afternoon, Ilie Bolojan and Robert Fico will travel to Oradea (west), for a meeting with members of the Slovak community in Romania.
DEFICIT Romania’s budget deficit reached 0.7% of the Gross Domestic Product for the first two months of this year, half the level reported for the corresponding period last year, according to data released by the finance ministry. During these two months, the government collected revenues of about EUR 21 billion, up 15.7% compared to January-February 2025, while expenditures reached around EUR 24 billion, down 1.6%. Some EUR 2 billion in the budget execution accounted for interest that the country pays for the loans it made in previous years.
FUELS On April 1, the emergency order declaring a crisis situation in the crude oil and petroleum products market will take effect in Romania. The document was passed by the government on Thursday and caps the commercial mark-up at the average level in 2025, while also introducing an obligation to reduce the percentage of biofuel in petrol from 8% to 2% allowing for fuel exports within the EU only with the permission of the ministries of economy and energy. The measures in the order will apply between April 1 and June 30. The government is also considering a decrease in the excise duty to petrol and diesel.
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT The Constitutional Court of Romania Thursday dismissed the complaints filed by the nationalist opposition party AUR against the 2026 state budget and social security budget laws endorsed by Parliament last week. The Court argues that it found no irregularities in the legislative process, as claimed by AUR, which complained that the bills had been rushed through Parliament. As for the accusations that the government relied on unrealistic estimates, the Court said those are matters related to state budget policies, rather than unconstitutionality issues. Therefore, the document can now be sent to the Presidential Administration for promulgation.
BESSARABIA Cultural and scientific events aimed at promoting the historical heritage and shared values of the Romanian people are organised today in Chisinau, on the 108th anniversary of the Union of Bessarabia with Romania. The historical moment of March 27, 1918 paved the way for the establishment of the modern Romanian state, completed on December 1 the same year, when Romanians in Transylvania, Banat, Maramures and Crisana also decided to join the motherland. Later on, in 1940, Romania ceded Bessarabia, a province with a mostly Romanian speaking population, following an ultimatum issued by Stalin’s Soviet Union, a direct result of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. Present-day Republic of Moldova was established on most of the eastern Romanian territories annexed by Soviet Union 86 years ago.
FOOTBALL The Romanian national football team misses out on another World Cup season, after they were defeated by Turkey on Thursday night in Istanbul, 1-0, in the semifinals of the qualifier play-offs for the 2026 final tournament. Romania last took part in a World Cup final tournament in 1998, 28 years ago. Turkey, which has not participated in the World Cup since 2002, when it won the bronze medal, will play the play-off final on home turf, against the winner of the match pitting Slovakia against Kosovo. Romania will play a friendly match on March 31, away from home, with the team defeated in the same match. (AMP)
