September 12, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 12.09.2026, 20:00
SUMMIT – Romanian President Nicuşor Dan is attending, on 13 and 14 September, a European Summit dedicated to the Arctic region, hosted by Finland in Rovaniemi. The meeting is being held at the initiative of Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and brings together European leaders, alongside representatives of EU institutions. The summit aims to strengthen the European Union’s strategic approach to the Arctic region, against a backdrop of the area’s growing geopolitical, economic and climate significance. According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan will set out Romania’s vision for addressing the challenges across the entire area stretching from the Arctic to the Black Sea, amid growing recognition that the security challenges facing these regions are interconnected.
DIPLOMACY – Seventy-seven new members of Romania’s Diplomatic and Consular Corps have taken their oath of office after successfully completing the most competitive and complex selection process organised by the Foreign Ministry in the past decade, interim Foreign Minister Oana Ţoiu announced on Friday. According to her, the recruitment and training process, launched in August 2025, attracted a record number of applicants – nearly 3,000 – and included a series of rigorous selection stages: simulations, multiple-choice tests conducted under strict video surveillance, written specialist examinations, interviews and psychological assessments. Interim Foreign Minister Oana Ţoiu said that foreign policy lies at the heart of Romania’s achievements and challenges, at a time of unprecedented pressure and strategic, economic and security stakes, as well as the need to rebuild the trust of the Romanian diaspora. This, she concluded, requires an elite diplomatic corps.
FIREFIGHTERS – Romania is marking Firefighters’ Day this weekend, observed every year on 13 September. Ceremonies, emergency vehicle displays, demonstrations of high-angle rescue techniques involving descents by rope from an aerial platform and from the Ministry of Interior building, first-aid workshops and a torchlight procession are scheduled in Bucharest. Events are also taking place across the country, where firefighters are opening their stations to the public. Visitors can see the equipment used by rescue teams at close quarters and find out more about emergency response and how to behave in emergency situations.
DRONE – A drone crashed into a cornfield near a settlement in Suceava County, in north-eastern Romania, on Saturday afternoon, leaving a crater approximately one metre in diameter and 30 centimetres deep, the Ministry of National Defence has said. No casualties were reported. According to the ministry, the Air Operations Centres of Ukraine and Moldova reported that a drone had crossed the airspace of neighbouring countries before heading towards north-eastern Romania. Two Romanian Air Force F-16 fighter jets were scrambled to monitor the situation.
AIRCRAFT – Romania’s flag carrier and oldest airline, TAROM, has received the first Boeing 737 MAX of a series of four aircraft acquired under operating and finance leases. The aircraft has been named after former footballer and manager Mircea Lucescu. The second Boeing aircraft will be delivered at the end of the month, while the remaining two are due to arrive next year. By introducing this new-generation aircraft, TAROM is adding to its fleet aircraft designed to offer high technical performance, greater comfort and a reduced environmental impact, the airline said in a statement. The Boeing 737 MAX is already widely used across Europe, with airlines currently operating more than 200 aircraft of this type.
FESTIVAL – In Constanţa, a Romanian port city on the Black Sea, the Cazino Music Festival, a new international classical music festival, is taking place from today until 22 November. Over 11 weekends, the festival is offering audiences a series of distinctive performances, each shaped by its musical genre, repertoire and the individual character of the invited artists. Audiences in Constanţa will thus have the opportunity to hear artists whom they would normally encounter in concert halls in Vienna, Berlin, Milan and other major European cultural centres. According to the organisers, the choice of programme is inseparable from the standards imposed by the building hosting the festival – the recently renovated Constanţa Casino, one of Europe’s most iconic Art Nouveau landmarks. (EE)
