July 11, 2026

A roundup of local and world news

Newsroom, 11.07.2026, 13:55

MINISTER Maia Sandu, the President of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking country, on Saturday announced the nomination of the 44-year-old financier, Vasile Tofan, as the country’s Prime Minister, Moldpres reports. The announcement was made during a press briefing she gave jointly with Igor Grosu, President of the Moldovan Parliament and leader of Sandu’s pro-European Party of European Action and Solidarity (PAS) following talks with the Parliament parties summoned after Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu had stepped down, after only 8 months in office. Sandu recalled the government’s main tasks are to complete the processes for the country’s European integration in the following years, to consolidate the state institutions’ resilience and kick-start the economy. Munteanu had been appointed in the aftermath of the Parliamentary election in September 2025, when PAS resoundingly defeated a Russia-leaning rival and won a fresh mandate, Reuters reports.

TALKS Romania’s President Nicusor Dan is to resume talks on Monday with leaders of the parties of the former ruling coalition PSD-PNL-USR-UDMR on forging a new government. Dan says he won’t nominate a Prime Minister who cannot obtain the necessary support in Parliament adding the two proposals advanced do not stand chances to get majority; the two are Siegfried Muresan, proposed by the PNL, USR, UDMR and Sorin Grindeanu, proposed by the PSD. On May 5, the minority PNL-USR-UDMR government, headed by the Liberal Ilie Bolojan was sacked through a non-confidence vote by the former ruling partners PSD and by the AUR from the ultranationalist, populist opposition. PNL and USR have later decided they will not join a cabinet, which also includes the PSD. President Dan’s two previous nominations for the position of Prime Minister, a presidential adviser and a renegade Liberal – failed to break the political deadlock.

ETCI Romania participates in the second stage of the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) launched by the European Investment Bank jointly with the 27 EU governments and private institutional investors. The initiative is aimed at gathering up to 80 billion Euros worth of investment in innovative technology companies. According to an EIB communiqué taken over by AGERPRES, the initiative’s new stage launched in Brussels on the sidelines of the ECOFIN meeting is aimed at setting up a pan-European investment platform to ease the access to funds for a series of extremely innovative companies, which can become world leaders. The interim Finance Minister, Alexandru Nazare, says that Romania was among the states supporting the initiative as the participation contributes to facilitating the access to development capital for tech companies, the consolidation of the European eco-system of investment funds and the development of a robust inflow of private capital channeled towards innovation.

VISIT Romania’s president Nicusor Dan will be attending the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine and ceremonies dedicated to the National Day of the French Republic. The visit comes at the invitation of his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, the presidential administration in Bucharest announced on Saturday. According to a communiqué transmitted by AGERPRES, Dan’s participation in the ceremonies in Paris confirms the consistency of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and France as well as the privileged relationship between the two countries and peoples. The year 2026 marks the centennial of the Romanian-French Friendship Treaty, a symbol of solidarity and the common commitment to supporting the European security. The theme of this year’s military parade on Champs Elysees is ‘The strategic Awakening of Europe’ and Romania will be represented by 22 servicemen. The visit’s agenda also includes President Dan’s participation in the Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine, a format launched in 2025 and coordinated by France and Great Britain, which has brought together 35 countries, which have shown their commitment to supporting Ukraine through solid guarantees of security. In his address, Dan is expected to highlight the direct link between the security of Ukraine and that of Europe, with emphasis on the NATO’s Eastern Flank and the EU, the presidential administration has announced.

(bill)