March 27, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 27.03.2026, 20:19
VISIT Romania’s President, Nicusor Dan, on Friday met the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico. The talks focused on military cooperation and the green energy transition, but also on the European agenda and the impact of the present international crises, including the Middle East conflict. ‘We have agreed that our priority is to protect the economies and citizens from the negative effects of these conflicts’, the President said after the meeting. ‘The relationship between Romania and Slovakia is a solid one, based on strong, historic, cultural and economic ties’, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan also said. During the joint statements upon the meeting of the Prime Ministers, Robert Fico said that developing bilateral projects is affected by the fact that the European agenda is ‘difficult and demanding’. The Slovak official pointed to the electricity prices and pleaded for a reform of the EU system of trading carbon credits, which is influencing the electricity price. In another development, Robert Fico highlighted the attention given to the Slovak minority, mentioning that is made up of citizens loyal to Romania, who kept their identity.
BUDGET Romania’s President, Nicusor Dan, on Friday promulgated the law on the 2026 state budget and the state social insurance after the Constitutional Court (CCR) had ruled the two laws as constitutional. On Thursday the CCR ruled against the notifications submitted by the Alliance for the Union of the Romanians (from the nationalist opposition) on the two laws the Parliament endorsed last week. According to the CCR, there were no irregularities in the legislative process as the AUR said, which pointed out to the stepped up procedure for debates and endorsement.
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 be playing Kosovo in the play-off final. Romania will be playing an away friendly against Slovakia on March 31st.
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.
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