October 29, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 29.10.2026, 13:55
PLANT The nuclear power plant in Cernavoda, southeastern Romania, remains in a state of alert for another 30 days. Due to the very low level of Danube’s waters, its two reactors cannot become operational this month as well. The power plant ground to a halt in August after a severe drought affected the conditions needed for reactor cooling. The two reactors accounted for roughly 20% of Romania’s electricity production. The Ministry of Energy is cautioning against problems that might occur in the process of supplying electricity at peak hours, which might lead to increased production, imports or reduced consumption in order to keep the balance of the country’s energy system. Gas prices on the European market have exceeded the threshold of 100 Euro per megawatt-hour (MWh) for the first time since December 2022, against the background of the war in the Middle East and the lower quantities in storage facilities right before winter.
DIESEL The European Commission wants the refineries in the EU member countries increase their production of diesel but also jet fuel in order to reduce the pressure on the market and grant supplies including in case of a military crisis. Roughly 70% of the kerosene and 85% of the diesel fuel consumed in Europe come from the bloc’s refineries but Brussels wants to consolidate these capabilities. And in order to defend the continent, the European field commissioner Andrius Kubilius is calling for a survey over the possibility of enlarging fuel pipelines towards NATO’s eastern flank.
FAIRS Over October 28 and November 1, Bucharest plays venue for INDAGRA and INDAGRA FOOD, Romania’s most important exhibition events dedicated to agriculture and food industry. The present edition of the two exhibitions has brought together 400 companies from 16 countries and has on display until Sunday, the latest technologies and farm tools as well as solutions for the hospitable industry. Besides the technological offer the event’s schedule includes specialized conferences, cooking shows, baking classes as well as an international pizza contest.
OLYMPICS The Romanian Olympic Committee has made public the 16 athlete delegation that will be representing Romania at the fourth edition of the Youth Olympic Games, due in Dakar, Senegal over October 31 – November 13. The Romanian athletes will be competing in 10 disciplines, such as athletics, gymnastics, wrestling, swimming, fencing, archery, boxing and rowing. At the previous edition of the aforementioned games held in Buenos Aires in 2018, Romania came 29th in an informal medal ranking.
TALKS Romania’s Defence Minister, Radu Oprea, on Wednesday attended in Sofia a trilateral meeting of Defence Ministers from Romania, Bulgaria and Turkiye. In Sofia, the Romanian official joined his counterparts from Bulgaria and Turkiye, Dimitar Stoyanov and Yaşar Guler respectively. High on the talks agenda were the latest developments in the security situation in the Black Sea region, mainly in terms of the risks caused by the drone attacks against civilian commercial vessels. During the meeting the three ministers tackled the necessary measures for strengthening allied cooperation at the Black Sea and the trilateral cooperation. The Romanian official firmly condemned the latest attacks against commercial vessels in the Black Sea, saying that they represent a major risk escalation associated with Russia’s aggression war against Ukraine. At least five cargo ships have been hit close to the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria in the past days and 23 sailors have lost their lives or have been reported missing.
(bill)
