October 1, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 01.10.2026, 20:02
TALKS Parliamentary parties in Romania are getting ready for a fresh round of talks with the country’s President Nicușor Dan, who announced on Monday that he would make a new nomination for the PM seat. On Wednesday, the Romanian Parliament did not grant a vote of confidence to the government proposed by MEP Siegfried Mureşan, which was backed by PNL, USR and UDMR. The Mureşan cabinet received only 182 votes out of the 233 needed. The PSD MPs, representing the left-wing opposition, did not vote, while the AUR MPs, the populist – nationalist opposition did not attend the vote. Although theoretically the Constitution allows the president to dissolve Parliament and call for early elections, President Dan has reiterated that he is not considering such an option.
BANK The hard currency reserves of Romania’s Central Bank have dropped by 4.8 billion Euros in September down to 60 billion Euros as compared to the end of August. According to the bank, part of this drop is explained through the payment of public debt installments and interests, which last month rose up to roughly 2.7 billion Euros. Data released shows that the gold reserve was kept at 103.6 tons, which is 12 billion Euros. According to the same sources, the due payment for public debt in October is nearly 350 million Euros.
EXCISE The Romanian Finance Ministry has announced that the diesel excise duty will also remain reduced by 25% in the first half of October. The ministry pointed out that it decided to keep that level after assessing the evolution of international quotations and pump prices. The excise reduction mechanism is assessed every two weeks. In Romania the diesel pump price exceeds 2 Euros per liter. Also on Thursday the interim government extended the safety measures on the electricity market by the end of the month. So, the Transelectrica Company can limit the industrial consumption in case of crisis. The decision comes as consumption in October between 18 and 22 hours could reach 8 thousand megawatts, whereas the hydro and photovoltaic output has been affected by the weather and kickstarting the reactors of the nuclear power plant in Cernavoda is not safe yet.
MESSAGE Romania’s President, Nicusor Dan, has told the Romanians in the Diaspora that Romania had made progress in the past 20 years and urged them to consider repatriation. Attending the 9th edition of the RePatriot Gala, housed by the Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest, President Dan underlined the expertise of the Romanian entrepreneurs abroad can contribute to the country’s development. Over 300 business people, managers and Romanian professionals from the country and abroad are attending the RePatriot summit held under the high patronage of the Romanian president. The event, which kicked off in Bucharest, continues until October 4th in the Black Sea resort of Mamaia and other places in Dobrogea, in the south-east. High on the agenda are investment, energy security, infrastructure and Romania’s development. The agenda also includes meetings dedicated to the Romanians in the Diaspora and projects for the Black Sea region.
SPOTLIGHT October brings Spotlight, Bucharest’s largest light festival. Now in its 10th edition, the event will be taking place over October 9–11 in the capital’s city center, along Calea Victoriei (Victory Road), under the theme ‘Playground’. More than 16 artists from Romania, Switzerland, France, Australia, Italy, Austria, and the UK invite the public to discover immersive installations, new media art, and video mapping shows. The festival will be featuring 19 installations, six buildings transformed by video mapping, over 3 km of cabling and fiber optics, 20 laser video projectors, and more than 200 light sources. Spotlight attracts 300,000 spectators annually.
DIPLOMACY Romania’s acting FM Oana Ţoiu has three major foreign policy and security events scheduled for October and November, the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) announced. The agenda of the Romanian official includes participation in the State of Europe 2026 Conference in Brussels which concludes today, the Security Forum in Warsaw on October 12 and 13 and the Chatham House Berlin Conference 2026 scheduled for November 25 and 26. On the sidelines of these events, minister Ţoiu will have bilateral meetings with several of her counterparts, the MAE communiqué also shows.
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