November 11, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 11.11.2026, 20:00
PRESIDENCY In a press conference on Tuesday night, president Nicușor Dan warned that reducing the budget deficit is a must, as Romania cannot afford to have its sovereign credit rating downgraded. The president explained that he had ruled out early elections as a possible solution to the political deadlock in order to prevent an economic collapse. At the same event, Nicușor Dan dismissed the idea that the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union could have taken over power even with his support, as they lacked a parliamentary majority. He also clarified that he did not want to bring the nationalist-populist AUR party into the government, as doing so would have created economic, institutional, and security vulnerabilities. In response, AUR accused the president of creating societal divisions with his remarks. Meanwhile, Save Romania Union’s leader Dominic Fritz said in a social media post that freedom of the press is not a favour granted to journalists, but rather the very foundation of democracy. This statement follows the president’s announcement that one of the journalists attending Tuesday’s press conference would no longer be given access to his press briefings because of insulting language previously directed at him by the reporter.
POWER The Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant’s Unit 2 has been reconnected to the national power grid and is expected to reach full capacity on Thursday, November 12. Due to the Danube’s very low flow rate following extensive drought, both reactors at the Cernavodă plant were shut down over the summer. Unit 1 was restarted last week but was subsequently disconnected from the national power grid again, over a technical fault with no impact on nuclear safety. Nuclearelectrica announced the reactor would be reconnected to the national grid on Thursday, once repair works are completed, and will reach its nominal capacity of 700 MW on November 13. The Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant typically accounts for 20% of Romania’s electricity demand.
INTELLIGENCE The Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) announced that late last year it had identified and halted a cyber attack targeting a Romanian governmental institution. According to the SRI, the attack was launched by a Russian entity known as APT Turla, which exploited a number of weaknesses in Microsoft operating systems. The National Cyberint Center moved to stop the attack, and measures were taken to address its effects. No sensitive data leaks were identified. The SRI did not disclose which institution was targeted, but said they worked together with partners in the European intelligence community, in the EU and NATO.
PARLIAMENT The Senate of Romania Wednesday dismissed a simple motion against the finance minister Alexandru Nazare. The vote count was 21 in favour, 46 against, and 13 abstentions. In the motion, the nationalist AUR party in opposition criticized the minister for presenting a selective view of the state of public finances and called for regular disclosure of budget deficit estimates according to the European ESA methodology, alongside data on the cash deficit. Nazare explained that the deficit is decreasing under both the national and European methodologies, with each quarter showing a decline compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year, as well as a year-on-year decrease. There is no separate figure for the Romanian public and another for Brussels, the finance minister emphasised. The Social Democrats, currently in power, did not back the motion, while the Liberals (formerly in government, now in opposition) criticised the move by AUR, which they accused of collaborating with the Social Democrats.
VETERANS The Romanian defence ministry organised military and religious ceremonies across the country to mark the Day of Veterans from Theatres of Operations. The defence minister Radu Oprea attended the events held in Bucharest. He said veterans who have returned from theatres of operations are a priority for his ministry and the Romanian government will fulfill its obligations toward them. For his part, Romania’s PM Luca Niculescu said that, thanks to its military personnel, Romania has proved it is a partner on which its allies can truly rely in preserving peace. The Day of Veterans from Theatres of Operations commemorates the 1918 truce between the Entente Powers and Germany, which brought an end to World War I. For the Romanian Armed Forces, the significance of this day is also tied to the fact that on November 11, 2003, second lieutenant Iosif Silviu Fogaraşi fell in the line of duty, becoming the first Romanian soldier to die in Afghanistan. Between 1996 and 2022, 31 Romanian troops died and over 200 were wounded in missions in theatres of operations. (AMP)
