April 3, 2026
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 03.04.2026, 13:55
Artefacts. The Dacian helmet from Coţofeneşti and two gold bracelets were recovered and handed over to Romania on Thursday, after they were stolen last January from the Drents Museum in the Netherlands. The prosecutors investigating the case say a third bracelet has still not been located. The helmet is slightly damaged, but it can be fully restored, said the director of the Drents Museum. President Nicuşor Dan warned that the Romanian authorities have the responsibility to provide a much more careful management of objects of exceptional historical and cultural importance for Romanian heritage by means of stricter rules and tighter application thereof.
Fuel. The Government is meeting today to adopt a draft emergency order on the reduction of the excise duty on diesel fuel and the establishment of a solidarity contribution in the oil sector. According to the draft order, consumers are to pay 30 bani less in excise duty for each liter purchased at the pump, while companies that make additional profits must contribute a certain percentage to the state budget. The solidarity contribution will be applied in situations where the average monthly price of Brent oil exceeds 70 dollars per barrel. The measures are to come into effect next week.
Finance. The Governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu, warned that the instability in the Middle East is worsening Romania’s financial vulnerabilities, also affecting the budget and the trade deficit. In this unstable context, joining the OECD could help the state balance the situation, Isarescu said on Thursday at a conference organised by the National Bank of Romania together with the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies.
EU. The European Union is exploring “all options”, including fuel rationing and releasing more oil from strategic reserves, as it is preparing for a “long-lasting” energy shock caused by the Middle East war, the EU energy commissioner, Dan Jorgensen, told the Financial Times. “This will be a long crisis… energy prices will be higher for a very long time,” the commissioner said. He also said he does not rule out another release of oil from strategic reserves if the situation gets worse.
Football. The proposals to appoint a new manager of the Romanian national team will be established by the members of the Technical Commission of the Romanian Football Federation, who are meeting today, said the Federation in a statement published on the its website. The Federation also announced that the octogenarian manager Mircea Lucescu has ended his term. After the team failed to qualify for this summer’s World Cup, losing nil-1 to Turkey, in their latest play-off match, Lucescu suffered a medical incident during a training session, which led to his hospitalisation. (CM)
