April 20, 2026
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 20.04.2026, 13:55
GOVERNMENT – In Romania, PSD, a governing partner alongside PNL, USR and UDMR, is deciding today whether or not to withdraw support for Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, the leader of the Liberals. The Social Democrats are unhappy with the PM’s austerity measures and, they say, the lack of real dialogue in the ruling coalition. After a long round of consultations at party branches around the country, PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu described the current governing as bad and no longer offering hope to Romanians, thus increasingly anticipating a negative vote for the PM by the over 5,000 local Social Democrat leaders who will speak out in a hybrid format consultation. In an interview on a private television station, Grindeanu said that, in this case, official consultations should be convened, on Tuesday or Wednesday, with President Nicuşor Dan. The most widely circulated scenario is the withdrawal of the Social Democratic ministers from the government, so that the PNL would propose another prime minister. However, this scenario is firmly rejected by the Liberals. Ilie Bolojan rejects the criticism of the Social Democrats, says that he will not resign and that, in the event of the withdrawal of the PSD ministers, their portfolios will be taken over by interims from among the other members of the government. He also cautioned that any rupture within the coalition could jeopardize ongoing reforms, planned spending cuts, and the effective use of NRRP funds, all in an already challenging economic climate both at home and abroad.
INDUSTRY – The Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Ţoiu, together with the Minister of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Irineu Darău, are inaugurating today at NATO headquarters in Brussels “Romania Industry Day”, an event to promote the national defense industry. Over 20 top Romanian companies have announced their participation. The event, organized for the first time at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Alliance, is a major milestone in Romania’s economic diplomacy efforts. The central objective is to highlight the strategic relevance of the national defense industry for NATO’s security architecture and to raise the profile of the defense and cybersecurity sector as potential suppliers for allies. In Brussels, Oana Ţoiu will also have a meeting with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
ENERGY – Romania may become the largest nuclear energy hub in the region in the coming years, in the context of major investments in the production and infrastructure of this sector, says the relevant minister Bogdan Ivan. He announced that he negotiated for Romania, in Washington, investments for nuclear and hydro energy, as well as the natural gas exploitation sector, totalling 3.5 billion euros. He also said that the ministry he leads already has a long-term strategy for increasing energy production, so it has prepared a regulatory act to encourage investments in the field.
BOOKS – Between April 17-19, Romania took part in the most important international event of its kind in the French capital, Festival du Livre de Paris (Paris Book Festival), organized at the Grand Palais. This year as well, Romania’s participation was organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) through the National Book Center and the ICR Paris, in partnership with the Embassy of Romania and the Republic of Moldova in France. This year’s theme was travel. Romania was present with a stand and the participation of several writers, such as Mircea Cărtărescu and Matei Vişniec. In total, 450 publishing houses and authors from 14 countries participated in this year’s event in the French capital.
MEDAL – Romanian athlete Mihaela Valentina Cambei, an Olympic vice-champion in Paris, won a gold medal and two silver medals in the 53-kg category on Sunday at the European Weightlifting Championships in Batumi, Georgia. Cambei took gold in the snatch, with 95 kg, after missing her second attempt, at 93 kg, and silver in the clean and jerk, with 114 kg (missing at 117 kg), and in the total, with 209 kg. Romania sent 15 athletes to the European Championships in Georgia, 7 in the women’s category and 8 in the men’s category. At the previous edition of the European Championships, held last year in Chisinau (Republic of Moldova), the Romanian delegation (made up of 15 athletes) won 11 medals, of which four gold, three silver and four bronze. (EE)
