July 24, 2026
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 24.07.2026, 13:55
VISIT Romania and India have the ambitious goal of doubling their trade in the coming years, president Nicuşor Dan stated today at the Romania-India Business Forum organised in the context of the state visit to Bucharest by the president of India, Droupadi Murmu. Romania is a country with interesting energy prospects, with a special quality of personnel in the fields of technology, science, IT, so there are multiple cooperation options, the head of state emphasised. He also highlighted that there are cooperation opportunities in the defence industry. Also today, the president of India Droupadi Murmu had talks with the interim PM Ilie Bolojan, and has further meetings scheduled with the Senate speaker Mircea Abrudean, and the Chamber of Deputies speaker Sorin Grindeanu.
DRONE A drone that had entered Romanian airspace was shot down by the Romanian pilot of an F-16 aircraft, the president of Romania Nicuşor Dan announced. He mentioned the aircraft was shot down at around 11:00 am, above an uninhabited area in Buzău County. According to some sources, the incident occurred near the town of Padina, about 120 km from the Ukrainian border. Nicuşor Dan also said that teams from relevant Romanian institutions travel to the site to investigate the incident. It is for the first time that the Romanian Air Forces shot down a drone violating Romanian airspace. Such incidents have occurred dozens of times before, the most serious of them on May 29, when a Russian-made drone hit an apartment building in Galaţi, wounding two people. In many other cases, Russian drones have hit targets in Ukraine right on the border with Romania.
INCIDENTS A new naval incident took place last night off the Romanian Black Sea coast, on board a commercial vessel sailing under Liberian flag with a coal cargo, the Department for Emergencies (DSU) reports. The ship was traveling from Norfolk (USA) to Ukraine. According to the DSU, the damage may have been caused by a sea drone or a sea mine. There are no injuries and the crew did not request evacuation. The incident comes a few days after another Liberian ship, carrying methane, was allegedly hit by drones near the Romanian coast. The ship suffered extensive damage and the 17-strong crew were evacuated. Three crew members were wounded, and one of them died in hospital.
FUELS Romania is not facing the risk of a fuel supply crisis, despite the temporary suspension of oil deliveries from Kazakhstan through the Caspian Pipeline, affected by tensions in the Black Sea region. Authorities and companies in the energy sector expect the market to remain stable in the next two weeks. The interim PM Ilie Bolojan said that Rompetrol, a company that supplies oil from Kazakhstan, is looking for alternative routes. Kazakhstan is Romania’s main oil supplier, with over 5 million tonnes of oil annually. Meanwhile, fuel prices continue to rise, having once again exceeded USD 100 / barrel, following the resumption of the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as drone attacks in the Black Sea. In Romania, in the last month, the petrol price increased by over 4%, and diesel by approximately 7%.
LAW The new public sector salary bill could be discussed in Parliament in a new extraordinary session in early August, following the special session next week in which other draft laws will be voted on, which are critical for the disbursing of significant funding under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The announcement was made by the interim PM Ilie Bolojan, who emphasised that there are still discussions for the final form of the document. According to him, the draft law on public sector salaries aims to eliminate situations in which employees in the public system with similar duties are paid differently, and promised that no one will have their incomes lowered. He also said salaries will be based on a reference value adjusted to the dynamics of the economy. Unless the law was adopted, the current salary inequities in the public sector would increase, and Romania could also lose EUR 770 million in EU funding under the PNRR.
WILDFIRES Wildfires continue to ravage parts of Europe. The French president Emmanuel Macron has announced his country will receive additional EU aid to deal with a major fire near the Atlantic coast. In Spain, the authorities have declared a state of emergency in the Madrid region and the neighboring province of Ávila, where fires are spreading rapidly due to the heat and drought, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. According to an AFP report based on data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), 2026 is so far the second worst in the last two decades in the European Union in terms of the areas affected by fire. For France, however, it is the most severe year on record, and for Spain and Italy one of the worst.
FOOTBALL The Romanian football teams taking part in the Conference League played the first leg of the second qualifying round on Thursday. CFR Cluj tied with the Armenian team FC Alaşkert, 1-1, in Yerevan. The second leg will take place on July 30, in Cluj-Napoca. Universitatea Cluj managed a 2-2 draw at home with the Norwegian team SK Brann Bergen, with the return leg to be played on July 30, in Bergen. And FCSB lost to the Latvian team FK Auda 3-2, in Bucharest. The return leg will be played on July 30, in Latvia. On Wednesday, in the first leg of the Champions League second qualifier round, Universitatea Craiova was defeated by Levski Sofia 1-0, away from home. The second leg will take place in Craiova, on July 29. (AMP)
