June 23, 2026
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 23.06.2026, 13:55
Politics. President Nicuşor Dan is holding new consultations with the parliamentary parties this afternoon with a view to appointing a new prime minister. He has invited, in order of their number of seats in Parliament, the Social Democratic Party, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, the parliamentary group of National Minorities, the S.O.S. Romania Party, the Young People’s Party, the United for Romania parliamentary group and the PACE – Romania First parliamentary group, as well as unaffiliated MPs. The president will grant each party or group half an hour for discussions. The new talks are taking place after Parliament rejected a new government proposed by the dissident Liberal Adrian Veştea in a vote late on Monday evening, with 189 votes, well short of the 233 needed.
Bears. At a meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Luxembourg, Romania and Slovakia called on the EU to ease the rules on managing brown bear populations. Acting agriculture minister Tánczos Barna warned that the increase in the number of bears has led to an increase in the number of incidents affecting rural communities and farmers. Romania is asking the European Commission for a permanent management framework for the species and the possibility of control based on scientific data in areas where the bear population is in a favourable conservation status. The initiative is backed by several member states, and the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, acknowledged the need to find more flexible solutions. The talks in Luxembourg also focused on the future of the common agricultural policy post-2027. Romania advocated for a well-financed European agriculture sector adapted to the realities on the ground – writes a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
EU funding. The interim government has adopted a memorandum proposed by the Ministry of Investments and European Projects to finalise the third round of negotiations on the amendment of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Acting Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said the negotiations held over the last two months were meant to clarify how Romania will implement the 66 reforms and 385 milestones it committed to so as not to lose European funding, and that Romania has managed to keep the 13.6 billion euros of non-reimbursable funding intended for investments. Ilie Bolojan also pointed out that, by the end of August, Romania must attract almost five billion euros to fund projects in advanced stages of execution.
Theatre. The line-up of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival features more captivating performances today, according to theatre critics. The highlights include the award-winning production of A Long Day’s Journey into Night by the Radu Stanca National Theatre in Sibiu, the theatre-dance performance “Infamous Offspring”, by the Belgian company Ultima Vez, and the musical performance “The Soul of Japan”. Today also features a special conference with the young writer of Romanian origin who conquered Spanish literature Miguel Gane. 20 street performances, which are free of charge, are also being staged today.
Tennis. Romanian tennis player Irina Begu defeated Venus Williams, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6, in the first round of the WTA 500 grass tournament in Bad Homburg, Germany, with total prizes worth over one million euros. Begu (who is 35 years old and ranked 211 in the world), won after almost three hours of play against the 46-year-old American, who got a wildcard for the competition. In the round of last 16, Begu will face world no. 11, the Czech player Karolina Muchova. The two are tied in head-to-head matches, 2-2, all of which were held on clay.
Heatwave. A new heatwave will hit Europe in the next few days, with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in many countries. The worst hit is France, which saw 43 degrees Celsius on Monday, during the day and 29 degrees at night. These are record levels, and a red code alert is also in place today. In Spain, too, temperatures passed 40 degrees Celsius, with another scorching day expected today. Portugal is also bracing for record high temperatures. Weather forecasts warn that the heat wave will expand, with temperatures above 40 degrees expected in Germany on Thursday and Friday, and up to 40 degrees in the south of the UK. (CM)
