May 5, 2026
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 05.05.2026, 13:55
Motion. A no-confidence motion against the cabinet led by the Liberal Ilie Bolojan and initiated by the Social Democratic Party (a former partner in government alongside the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania), together with the populist opposition the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, is being debated and voted on in Parliament today. The initiators say Romania does not need a prime minister who promotes austerity policies for the population, refuses dialogue, blocks solutions for economic recovery and is preparing to sell strategic state assets. Prime minister Ilie Bolojan says he has become a target precisely because he has blocked the waste of public money. At least 233 votes are needed for the motion to pass and for the Government to be dismissed. If the motion passes, the parties will be invited for consultations by president Nicuşor Dan, after which the latter will appoint a prime minister to form a new government.
Currency. Romania’s national currency, the leu, has continued to depreciate amid political uncertainty. The euro has passed 5.21 lei on the interbank market, after the leu closed last week at its lowest level in history. Analysts warn that the national currency remains extremely vulnerable to the political crisis that began in late April. They also say that in times like these the depreciation is quick and recovery against the European currency is, most of the time, only partial. Financial expert Adrian Codirlaşu told public television that all Romanian assets have depreciated and that the situation could last, amid a high level of uncertainty.
Reform. The minister for investments and European projects Dragoş Pîslaru has announced that the assessment of payment request no. 4 under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan has been finalised and that no problems have been identified. 2.62 billion euros worth of funding thus becomes available. On Monday, the Government approved two emergency orders to allow local authorities carrying out projects as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan to have quicker access to these funds. The projects must be finalised by the end of the summer for Romania not to lose the funding.
Summit. Gathered for two days in the Armenian capital Yerevan for the European Political Community summit, European leaders have emphasised that the global challenges and the strained relations with the US administration require a coordinated approach to security. Romania was represented at the summit by its head of state, president Nicușor Dan. He co-chaired a roundtable discussion dedicated on the subject of “Democratic Resilience and Hybrid Threats”, hosted an informal talk on the impact of the Vertical Gas Corridor on regional energy security, attended a new meeting of the coordination group for the Republic of Moldova and held a number of bilateral talks.
Awards. Kontinental ʹ25 directed by Radu Jude won the best film award at this year’s Gopo Awards Gala held last evening in Bucharest. Eszter Tompa won the award for best actress for her role in Kontinental ʹ25, while Ben Schnetzer won the best actor award for his role in “The Yellow Tie”, a film that won seven categories, including the People’s Choice Award. (CM)
