June 26, 2026
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 26.06.2026, 13:55
GOVERNMENT President Nicuşor Dan expects the leaders of the former ruling coalition in Bucharest (comprising the Social Democratic Party – PSD, the National Liberal Party – PNL, Save Romania Union – USR and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR) to come up today with a political agreement to support a future government, although during yesterday’s talks they failed to reach a consensus. The Social Democrats’ president Sorin Grindeanu announced the first steps towards forming a new cabinet have been taken, with an agreement reached on the broad principles of a political pact related to macroeconomic targets that include the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the OECD accession and SAFE. The governing formula and the nomination of a prime minister are still under discussion. The Social Democrats nominated Sorin Grindeanu, but USR refuses to vote for a single-party PSD cabinet and would prefer a rotation in which the Social Democrats accept a PNL, USR, UDMR government now, and the three parties agree with a Social Democratic cabinet next year. However, the idea was rejected by both the Social Democrats and president Nicuşor Dan. Today, the liberals nominated Siegfried Mureșan, an MEP and vice-president of the European People’s Party. The nomination is backed by USR and UDMR.
NATIONAL FLAG DAY The National Flag Day was celebrated today in Bucharest with a ceremony in the Tricolor Square. During the event organised by the defence ministry, the national flag was blessed by a military priest and raised on the flagpole in the square, to the tune of the national anthem. Similar ceremonies took place in military units across the country. Wounded soldiers from the Invictus Romania team marked the event with an ascent to Parângul Mare Peak, culminating with the raising of a 100-meter national flag by soldiers, Invictus volunteers and civilians, symbolising national unity.
DEFICIT Romania’s budget deficit dropped by almost a half compared to the previous year, from 3.35% to 1.75% of GDP after the first months of the year, the finance ministry announced. Total public revenues increased by 9.2%, mainly due to higher tax collection, while expenditures dropped by 1.5%. In a Facebook post the interim finance minister Alexandru Nazare said that talks with international rating agencies ahead of the new country assessment reports will take place in the coming period, and developments in the current budget period will support Bucharest’s arguments regarding its capacity to carry on fiscal consolidation. The budget deficit target agreed with the European Commission is 6.2% at the end of the year.
VENEZUELA Rescue teams in Venezuela are racing against time to rescue people trapped under the rubble after two earthquakes hit the country. Authorities say hundreds of people are trapped under the debris and more than 250 buildings have been damaged or completely destroyed. At least eight hospitals were affected, along with the headquarters of the Venezuelan Red Cross and the French Embassy in Caracas. Tens of thousands of homes have been left without electricity and water supply. The current death toll is 235, but the number of victims is estimated to be much higher. There are fears that the death toll from the tragedy could reach thousands. The first of the two earthquakes, with a magnitude of 7.2 Richter and the epicenter 160 km from the capital Caracas, occurred on Wednesday evening. The second one, which came less than a minute later, measured 7.5 Richter, and was the strongest the country has experienced in almost 130 years.
NATO The next Eastern Flank Summit will take place in Romania, president Nicuşor Dan announced in a joint press statement with the leaders who took part on Thursday in the meeting of this format in Gdansk, Poland. The main topics to be addressed at the NATO Summit in Ankara early next month were set during this meeting, including the security of the eastern part of the continent. According to president Dan, Romania’s direct interests are the southern part of the Eastern Flank and the Black Sea. In this context, the president of Romania decorated the former president of Poland and anti-communist dissident Lech Wałęsa with the National Order “Star of Romania” Grand Cross.
TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Gabriela Ruse (105 WTA) will face Karolina Muchova (11 WTA) in the semifinals of the WTA 500 tournament in Bad Homburg (Germany), after the Czech defeated Demnark’s Clara Tauson, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the last match on Thursday. Ruse won the quarterfinals on Thursday against Emma Navarro (US) 6-4, 6-2. Gabriela Ruse was defeated 6-4, 6-1 by Muchova in their only match so far, in the round of 16 in Auckland in 2023. (AMP)
