October 12, 2026

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 12.10.2026, 13:55

NOBEL – American professors Robert Hall and Michael Woodford have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. They were recognised for their studies on the ‘microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stability’, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm announced today. Last year, the prize was shared by three researchers for their work on sustained growth in national economies. The Nobel Prizes in Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature and Peace were announced last week. Unlike the other Nobel Prizes, the award in Economic Sciences was not provided for in the will of Swedish chemist and philanthropist Alfred Nobel (1833–1896), best known for inventing dynamite. The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was established in 1968 by Sweden’s central bank and was first awarded in 1969.

GOVERNMENT – Prime Minister-designate Luca Niculescu is resuming talks on forming a new government, with a view to submitting the cabinet list and government programme to parliament on Thursday. He told Radio Romania that the country urgently needs a fully empowered government, not to fill positions, but to address concrete problems affecting Romanians’ everyday lives. Niculescu has called on political parties to show an even greater willingness to engage in dialogue and take responsibility for a decision. Meanwhile, the deadlock between the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL), the main parliamentary parties from which Luca Niculescu could secure votes for his government, persists. The Social Democrats say they want a change in Romania’s economic direction and a parliamentary majority that openly commits to supporting the government, while the Liberals continue to rule out co-operation with the PSD. The PNL has nevertheless said it could support the government’s investiture to ensure the smooth functioning of the state. Representatives of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), who have also held talks with Luca Niculescu, have again called for the PSD and PNL to resume co-operation as a way of securing a parliamentary majority. The prime minister-designate is due to meet representatives of the Save Romania Union (USR) and national minorities today. The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), a nationalist and populist party, has categorically announced that it will not support a future government proposed by Luca Niculescu. It is calling for President Nicuşor Dan to be suspended and for early elections to be held. At least 233 votes in favour are required in parliament for the government to be invested.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS – Acting Foreign Minister Oana Ţoiu is attending the European Union Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg today. According to an official statement, the agenda includes pressing current issues such as Black Sea security, hybrid threats and the conflict in the Middle East. Romania’s top diplomat will focus during the discussions on problems in the Black Sea region, where drone attacks and disruptions to trade routes are creating growing regional challenges. In this context, Oana Ţoiu will reaffirm Bucharest’s support for European sanctions against Russia. The acting foreign minister has also welcomed the opening of new negotiation chapters with the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine as part of their efforts to join the European Union. The minister will return to these issues in Warsaw, where the Security Forum takes place today and tomorrow under the theme “Securing Europe from the Eastern Flank to the High North”.

DEMOGRAPHY – Romania’s population continues to decline at a worrying rate, according to figures published today by the National Institute of Statistics. Natural population growth remained negative in August, with the number of deaths almost 1.4 times higher than the number of births. More than 13,000 children were born during the month, while the number of deaths exceeded 18,000. More than 40% of deaths were recorded among people aged over 80. The statistics also show that approximately 15,000 marriages took place in Romania in August.

EU BUDGET – European leaders will meet in Brussels at the end of the week to discuss a proposal by Ireland, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, to cut the bloc’s future budget for 2028–2034 by 8%. The figure is intended as a compromise between countries calling for more substantial spending cuts, led by Germany, and those seeking to protect funding for agriculture and regional development, including Italy and Romania. The European Parliament’s chief negotiator, Siegfried Mureşan, has rejected the compromise and called for a budget 10% larger than the European Commission’s initial proposal. He warns that the EU risks not having enough money to fund even its new priorities, such as defence and competitiveness. The European Union budget will require unanimous approval from all 27 member states, as well as the approval of the legislature in Strasbourg.

DANUBE – Romanian hydrologists say the flow of the Danube, which has fallen to its lowest levels on record, is expected to rise from 1,200 to 1,350 cubic metres per second in the middle of this week. For the second half of October, the maximum flow rate at the river’s entry into Romania is forecast to reach 1,600 cubic metres per second. Low water levels led to the shutdown of the two reactors at the Cernavodă nuclear power plant during the summer. The reactors account for 20% of Romania’s electricity production. Nuclearelectrica has announced that both reactors at Cernavodă remain offline and that the resumption of electricity generation depends on rising Danube water levels. The company said the shutdown poses no risks to nuclear safety, which is ensured through specific systems and procedures and the permanent deployment of specialist teams.

EXERCISE – A NATO exercise led by the Multinational Corps South-East Headquarters, based in Romania, is taking place until 14 October at the training centre in Cincu, central Romania, and at other military facilities across the country. “Carpathian Arc 2026” is a multinational military exercise involving computer-assisted evaluation and organised for recertification purposes. The exercise follows decisions adopted at the 2022 NATO summit in Madrid, which led to the strengthening of the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture by developing the capacity of multinational battlegroups on the eastern flank to be reinforced to brigade level whenever and wherever necessary. France is contributing to this effort by deploying rapid-response capabilities, including additional forces to support the NATO battlegroup in Romania. (EE)