The Week in Review 29 June – 5 July

A roundup of the week's major events

Corina Cristea, 04.07.2026, 14:00

The Political Situation in Bucharest

The parties in the former governing coalition in Bucharest (PSD, PNL, USR, and UDMR) have once again failed this week to reach an agreement on forming a new government and kept levelling accusations at one another. The Social Democratic Party wants to take over the government either with a minority cabinet supported by an agreement the party would sign with the right-wing parties, or through a new rotating coalition, provided that the Social Democrats are the first to appoint the prime minister. The Liberals, however, want clear guarantees that the agreement will be honoured and say that “the fundamental issue, and the one that greatly hinders any kind of agreement, is the loss of trust among political parties, primarily in PSD.” Meanwhile, AUR (the nationalist opposition) has decided to initiate procedures to suspend President Nicuşor Dan and to call for early elections. The party accuses the head of state of refusing to nominate a new prime minister and of excluding a significant portion of Romanians from the decision-making process, a hint at the fact that the head of state is not considering AUR’s participation in the government. It is the responsibility of the parties to come up with solutions to the current political crisis, says Nicuşor Dan, who points out that at this moment there is no parliamentary majority to support a future executive branch. The president also says that early elections would not bring about fundamental shifts in the majorities and, moreover, would create an image of instability for months to come. Regarding a possible downgrade of the country’s credit rating, the head of state has stated that this would be “a catastrophe” for Romania and announced that he will personally engage in the dialogue with international agencies ahead of the next evaluations. Nicușor Dan has asked the party leaders to make themselves available to the evaluators to convey that, on fundamental issues affecting the economy and public finances, everyone’s views and actions are aligned. The president made these statements after meeting with the ambassadors of the EU member states, whom he told that state institutions were functioning, even though the government had limited powers.

Decisions at the CSAT

Romania’s objectives at the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7–8 and its military’s participation in missions and operations outside the country’s territory were items on the agenda of Monday’s meeting of the Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT), convened by President Nicuşor Dan. According to a statement from the Presidential Administration, the summit represents an opportunity to bring back to the attention of allies at the highest level the complicated situation in the Black Sea region and the consequences that Russian aggression has had at the regional level and for Romania, through incidents such as those involving drones. At the same time, the Council members approved the Romanian armed forces that may be made available to participate in missions and operations outside Romanian territory in 2027. The CSAT also determined that the government, through the relevant public authorities, should take the necessary measures to prevent the suspension of ROMATSA’s operations—Romania’s sole provider of air traffic control services—after the Bucharest Court of Appeals ruled in February to suspend ROMATSA’s certificate for one month as a result of a lawsuit. The decision is not final or enforceable, but the Presidential Administration points out that a possible suspension of the institution’s operations would affect national security by compromising the oversight of integrated airspace and disrupting NATO missions on the eastern flank. Meanwhile, the government has decided to challenge in court the enforcement proceedings against ROMATSA’s accounts ordered by a Belgian court regarding the Romanian state’s debt of hundreds of millions of euros to pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for COVID-19 vaccines that were not purchased. At the same time, the government is continuing confidential negotiations with the vaccine manufacturer.

Talks in Bucharest Between the Presidents of Romania and Israel

“The relationship between Romania and Israel is strong on the political, economic, and human levels,” Romanian President Nicuşor Dan said Monday after talks in Bucharest with his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog. President Dan noted that an important bond was the community of Jews originally from Romania who contributed to the establishment and subsequent development of the State of Israel. He also spoke about cooperation in various fields—the economy, security and the defence industry, agriculture, and information technology—and noted that there’s great potential for further developing these relations. For his part, President Herzog thanked Romania for its deep partnership, as well as for its efforts to combat anti-Semitism. Later, during his speech before the joint session of the Romanian Parliament in Bucharest, Isaac Herzog highlighted the special bond between Israel and Romania. The visit also carried significant historical weight, as it coincided with the 85th anniversary of the 1941 Iași Pogrom.

Heat Wave and Storms

The first red alert for a heat wave issued this summer in Romania covered nearly the entire country at the start of the week, and the severe storms that followed temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius seriously affected the Bucharest area and several counties. There were also fatalities, and property damage was considerable. In Bucharest, streets were flooded, hundreds of trees fell, and due to heavy rainfall and massive water infiltration, the tracks at one of Bucharest’s metro stations were flooded. It took 28 hours to pump the water off the tracks—which had reached platform level—and resume safe train service. According to a statement from the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, in addition to Bucharest, the severe storms affected 60 localities in 20 counties, including major cities such as Brașov and Sibiu. Firefighters also responded there to clear approximately 1,000 fallen trees and dozens of utility poles, remove structural debris from the roofs of dozens of buildings, and pump water out of yards, basements, and underground spaces. Hundreds of cars were damaged, and rail traffic was disrupted on several main lines.

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