October 20, 2026
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 20.10.2026, 13:45
VOTE The bicameral Parliament in Bucharest is today voting for the government proposed by the Prime Minister designate and former journalist Luca Niculescu. Two thirds of the portfolios will be occupied by the PSD members, many of whom served in the previous cabinets. All the ministers proposed were approved by the Parliament’s specialized committees on Monday and Tuesday. The other ministries will be headed by non-political experts approved by the Romanian President Nicusor Dan. In order to get validated, the new government needs at least 233 yes-votes, half plus one from the total number. The UDMR, MPs from the national minorities and marginal Parliament groups have announced their decision to endorse the PSD. The PNL has also pledged support for the investiture of the Niculescu cabinet in order to put an end to the political crisis, which has lasted for almost half a year. The AUR and the USR aren’t going to vote for the cabinet proposed. Niculescu has been President Dan’s fourth nominee since the dismissal through a no-confidence vote of the PNL-USR-UDMR government headed by the Liberal Ilie Bolojan in May this year. Besides Niculescu the other nominees were the MEP Eugen Tomac, the dissident Liberal Adrian Vestea and the PNL MEP Siegfried Muresan.
DEFICIT Romania’s budget deficit dropped to 3.82% of the GDP in the first nine months of the year, data released by the Finance Ministry has announced. In the same period last year the deficit stood at 5.35%. The budget deficit target this year is 6.2% of the GDP. In another development, the prospect of having a government with full powers has caused the appreciation of the national currency against the EURO and a rise in the stock exchange index. A new government and the endorsement in due time of the 2027 budget represent positive developments for Romania’s credit profile and support the continuation of the fiscal consolidation process, says data released by the international rating agency Moody’s on Tuesday and quoted by the Finance Ministry. The agency is maintaining estimates regarding the budget deficit from 7.9% of the GDP in 2025 to 5.8% this year and 5.5% in 2027.
CONFERENCE Over October 20th and the 22nd Romania’s National Cybersecurity Directorate (DNSC) jointly with Bitdefender is staging the 2026 edition of the Bucharest Cybersecurity Conference (BCC2026) a top event in the international dialogue on cybersecurity. According to the organizers, BCC2026 brings together representatives of the public authorities of European and international institutions, leaders in the industry, experts and academia representatives. The conference has been conceived as a high level dialogue platform for the international community of cybersecurity. The programme includes individual presentations, (keynotes) held by experts, industry representatives, authorities and international organisations as well as interactive sessions, dedicated to the expertise exchange and studies of the latest tendencies of identifying concrete and applicable solutions to the present challenges. The event will also include round table talks, workshops and practical exercises designed to foster direct dialogue, cooperation between the participants and the development of common prospects over the way in which organisations and communities can effectively anticipate, prevent and manage cyber-threats.
ACTIVITY In a review of his nearly 16-month mandate at the helm of the Romanian government, presented on Monday, Ilie Bolojan acknowledged that he was compelled to begin his term by raising the VAT, a measure intended to boost budget revenue and reduce the deficit. He thanked the Romanian people for bearing the brunt of the burden during this period, emphasizing that their sacrifices were not in vain: the budget deficit was reduced in both the previous and current years, and Romania successfully avoided a credit rating downgrade. Bolojan noted that the incoming government will face several challenges, including the issue of outstanding payments. Regarding the healthcare sector, he stated that the new government must ensure that salary-related grievances and poor hospital management do not translate into higher costs for patient care. Another future challenge is improving the management of state-owned enterprises. It should be recalled that the Ilie Bolojan government was removed on May 5th via a motion of no confidence, and has since served in an interim capacity.
PARIS In Paris, movement restrictions imposed in the city center, following the violence and looting that devastated several neighborhoods of the French capital in recent days, have been lifted. In anticipation of demonstrations announced for Saturday, the Interior Ministry is preparing a larger deployment of intervention forces and a stricter plan for maintaining public order. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has invited the leaders of the four major trade union blocs to consultations. The unions, for their part, are preparing for a nationwide demonstration on November 5th, Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris reports
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