May 1, 2026
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 01.05.2026, 14:00
Labour Day. It’s a long weekend in Romania, as Labour Day is a bank holiday in this country. Many people are spending the days off at the seaside or in the mountains. The occupancy rate in the popular mountain resorts in the Southern Carpathians is almost 75%, and 45 thousand tourists are expected on the Black Sea coast this weekend, fewer, however, compared to previous years, also in part due to the overcast and cold weather. Mamaia and Vama Veche are still the most popular seaside destinations, with lots of concerts and parties on offer. Around 25,000 interior ministry staff have been mobilized across the country to ensure public safety during the Labour Day weekend. 350 police radars are monitoring traffic on the main national roads, especially those to the coast and the mountain resorts. Also 3,500 border police officers have been dispatched to oversee border traffic.
Investigation. The file of the miner riots of Bucharest, June 13-15, 1990, is to go back to the General Prosecutor’s Office for a revision of the indictment drawn up in 2025 by military prosecutors. The High Court judges have found irregularities in the description of the facts and have decided to exclude from evidence the statements made by the defendants before a parliamentary investigation committee. The court thus partially accepted the request of seven defendants, including the former president Ion Iliescu, who has in the meantime passed away. They were indicted last year for crimes against humanity, after the Military Prosecutor’s Office re-opened the investigation. According to the prosecutors, in June 1990, in Bucharest, the defendants repressed a large demonstration of the civilian population against the left-wing government that came to power after the fall of communism. Following the violent intervention of the miners, 4 people were killed, 1,300 injured and 1,200 illegally detained.
Declassification. The foreign ministry plans to declassify documents from diplomatic archives. A draft government decision to this end has been made public and refers to over 5,000 diplomatic files from between January 1990 and December 31, 1992. According to the foreign ministry, this is the most substantial batch of diplomatic documents made public after the declassification of records pre-1989 and refer to an important period in Romania’s post-communist history: the first free elections after the fall of communism, the June 1990 miner riots, the historic visit to his country by King Michael in 1992, the reunification of Germany and the collapse of the USSR. In a social media post, foreign minister Oana Ţoiu emphasised that Romanians have the right to truly know the history of Romania’s period of transition from dictatorship to democracy, adding that many things have been left unsaid or unclear for too long, and the lack of information fuels conspiracy and mistrust.
Poverty. Romania has the third highest risk of poverty in the European Union. The latest Eurostat data show that Romania has managed to improve the situation from 2023, when it ranked first, with 32%, now standing at 27.4% in 2025. The worst situation is now in Bulgaria, followed by Greece, while at the opposite pole are states like the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia. Eurostat data also show that, in 2025, there were almost 93 million people at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the European Union, namely almost 21% of the bloc’s population.
Drones. Russia carried out new drone attacks against civilian and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, near the river border with Romania. Explosions were reported on the Ukrainian bank of the Danube. According to the Romanian defence ministry, surveillance systems did not detect radar signals in the national airspace, but alert text messages were sent to residents as a precaution. The ministry says it keeps allied structures informed in real time about the situation generated by the Russian attacks, being in permanent contact.
Music. Bucharest will host, between May 23 and 31, the World New Music Days International Festival, the largest event dedicated to new music worldwide. It is organised every year by a different host country, a member of the International Society for Contemporary Music. The festival returns to Romania after 27 years and the theme of this year’s edition, The Endless Column, is a tribute to Constantin Brâncuși, on the anniversary of 150 years since the sculptor’s birthday celebrated this year. The line-up features chamber and electronic concerts, audio and video works, and a musicology conference. (CM)
