March 8 – 14
The headline-making stories this past week
Ştefan Stoica, 14.03.2026, 14:00
Budget draft finalized
The most delayed budget draft in the last two decades was finalized on Thursday evening and sent to Parliament for debate, along with the social security draft. It is a realistic, balanced budget, built on prudent parameters in a difficult period, said Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare. The main challenge is to reduce the budget deficit to 6.2% of the GDP, a milestone on the path to fiscal rebalancing agreed with the European Commission. The prime minister noted that the budget also takes into account a 10% reduction in central and local government spending. On the other hand, investment budgets will be higher than last year, due to components related to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, worth over €10 billion, as well as SAFE (Security Action for Europe).
The GDP on which the budget is based exceeds 2 trillion lei, equivalent to 400 billion euros, said Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare. The economic growth forecast for this year is 1%, and inflation is 6.5%. The budget is proposed by the four-party coalition government, but the Social Democrats, who are part of it, are dissatisfied and still need a political conclave to decide whether to support it. They want to amend it in Parliament, especially the part that is of particular interest to them, namely social solidarity. Prime Minister Bolojan, constantly criticized by the PSD for being rigid, although others consider him merely rigorous, is convinced that the draft state budget will pass the legislative vote without major changes.
The President of Ukraine on a visit to Romania
The 35-year history of relations between Romania and Ukraine, separated by a 650 km border, has seen its share of disputes, including territorial ones, which have led to a lack of trust between the two sides. Things have changed radically, and the very good level of bilateral relations allowed the two presidents, Nicuşor Dan and Volodymyr Zelensky to sign on Thursday in Bucharest the declaration of strategic partnership between the two countries as well as two other documents concerning cooperation in the field of energy and joint arms production. Under the strategic partnership, the two countries will cooperate in international efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, to punish Russia for war crimes, and to obtain compensation from Moscow for its aggression.
A high-level strategic commission will be launched, joint government meetings will be held annually, and consultations will be held at the level of parliament and foreign ministers. Romania and Ukraine will jointly produce drones, a field in which their eastern neighbor has specialized due to circumstances. President Dan said he had received assurances that Romanian-language schools would continue to operate and that all other rights of the Romanian minority would be upheld. For his part, President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that Romania and Ukraine have potential for cooperation in the fields of energy and infrastructure. The leader from Kyiv also met with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan. Zelensky then visited a military unit in southern Romania where Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly F-16 fighter jets.
Romanian support for its most important strategic partner
In the middle of the week, the Romanian Parliament approved the decision of the Supreme Council for National Defense regarding the temporary deployment of American defensive equipment and military forces in Romania for three months, in the context of the crisis in the Middle East. This includes refueling aircraft, monitoring equipment, and satellite communications equipment. The American equipment and forces, approximately 400-500 military personnel, would be deployed to bases in Mihail Kogălniceanu, on the Black Sea, and Câmpia Turzii, in the center of the country. If the conflict continues, the presence of military forces and equipment will require a new agreement from Romania. According to President Nicuşor Dan, the decision was taken by the CSAT on the basis of the Partnership Agreement between Romania and the United States of America. “I assure Romanians that they have no cause for concern, their country is safe, even safer,” said the head of state. The populist opposition, which calls itself sovereignist, protested loudly during the debate in Parliament, arguing that such a decision could drag the country into war. Note that these are the same parties that crave the friendship of President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement around him.
Fuel Prices Reach Alarming Levels
The price of a barrel of oil, sent skyrocketing by the conflict in the Middle East, is causing concern everywhere. In Romania, rising fuel prices are fueling fears that the cost of goods will rise yet again, against a backdrop of already high inflation, at around 9 percent. On the other hand, the authorities do not want to touch excise duties, which account for more than half of the price of fuel, because a reduction in budget revenues would thwart efforts to rehabilitate the fiscal budget and reduce the severe deficit. However, the harsh reality has prompted the executive to take initial measures: it has extended until the end of the year the compensation for the increase in diesel prices for transporters, who have been facing record fuel prices for two weeks due to the conflict in the Middle East. The value of state aid is also increasing from 65 to 85 bani per liter. The measure took into account the maintenance of reasonable shelf prices and, implicitly, inflation. Over 6,200 businesses will benefit from this support. In Romania, the price of diesel has surpassed 1.7 euros, and the price of gasoline has exceeded 1.6 euros. (MI)
