November 12, 2026 UPDATE

A roundup of national and international news.

Newsroom, 12.11.2026, 20:00

SUMMIT – Romanian President Nicuşor Dan is in Dublin on Thursday and Friday to attend the European Political Community Summit and the informal meeting of the European Council. According to a statement issued by the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, during the summit the Romanian President highlighted the importance of a coordinated European response to shared security and competitiveness challenges, and called for stronger strategic connectivity and democratic resilience. He also referred to security on NATO’s Eastern Flank, including in the Black Sea region. The head of state also took part in a round-table discussion on the security and defence of democratic Europe, which addressed support for Ukraine and countering hybrid threats, as well as in a meeting of the European Coalition Against Drugs. On the sidelines of the summit, Nicuşor Dan attended another meeting of the Support Group for the Republic of Moldova, where he reaffirmed Romania’s firm backing for the country’s European path. In Dublin, the Romanian President also held a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, with whom he discussed the European Union’s multiannual budget, the Republic of Moldova and defence. “The discussions also focused on strengthening European security, as well as on the long-term development of the defence industries and military capabilities of both countries. These objectives are essential to ensuring credible deterrence on NATO’s Eastern Flank, amid an increase in drone incursions and the hybrid threats facing Europe,” Nicuşor Dan said in a social media post.

FORUM – Romania’s Prime Minister, Luca Niculescu, said on Thursday that technology must become a driver of competitiveness and that the Government supports this objective. Speaking at the Digital Finance Forum in Central and Eastern Europe, held in Bucharest, the Prime Minister said that digital transformation was no longer merely ‘one option among many’ for economies seeking to remain relevant, but a prerequisite for ‘competitiveness, resilience and the ability to create prosperity’. “The Government’s objective is to make technology a driver of the competitiveness of the Romanian economy: to support investment, boost productivity, promote research and innovation, and help Romanian companies grow and compete in international markets,” the Prime Minister said. The forum brought together representatives of financial supervisory authorities from several European countries, national and international institutions, as well as experts from the financial and technology sectors, to discuss the digital transformation of financial markets and its implications for the European economy.

POWER PLANT – Romanian authorities have announced that Unit 1 of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant in south-eastern Romania will be reconnected to the grid on Friday, one day later than initially scheduled, as repairs to the fault are taking longer than expected. Unit 2 was synchronised with the National Energy System on Wednesday and will supply more than 650 MW. Both reactors at the Cernavodă plant were shut down in a controlled manner this summer due to the very low water levels of the Danube, depriving Romania of approximately one fifth of its domestic electricity production. Against the backdrop of the domestic production shortfall, Romania was forced to import electricity.

INFLATION – Romania’s annual inflation rate continued to rise in October, reaching 6.9%, up from 6.6% in September, according to data released today by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). According to the institute, this marks the second consecutive month in which annual inflation has continued to increase, reaching 6.9%. The annual inflation rate, compared with the same month of the previous year, stood at 6.94%, with the largest price increases once again recorded in services, at 11.23%. Over the same period, non-food goods prices rose by 7.66%, while food prices increased by 3.07%, the INS said.

NEGOTIATIONS – Special envoys of the US Administration, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, were received in Moscow on Thursday by President Vladimir Putin. The American mediators, who had facilitated talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi over the past few days, raised the possibility of broadening negotiations on the war in Ukraine to include European representatives. Vladimir Putin asked the US mediators to establish, through their contacts with Europeans, whether the latter wanted peace or war. He also reiterated his opposition to the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping arrangement, arguing that such a move would pose a threat to Russia’s national security and amount to a continuation of the conflict. (EE)