A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 31.07.2026, 13:50
Strike. The Sanitas trade union federation says it cut short its general strike pending the adoption of a new law on public sector wages. In a Facebook post, Sanitas said the strike had achieved its goal, namely to raise awareness about the situation in the public healthcare and social assistance systems. Also, the adoption of the public sector wage bill has been postponed, at the very least. The federation also recalled that it obtained a court ruling confirming that as a caretaker government, Ilie Bolojan’s cabinet does not have the political authority to draft and submit legislation. Union members also mentioned the approval of an amendment allowing for the filling in of vacant positions in the healthcare system, within the limitations of the budget. Trade unions have announced two new objectives: negotiating a different wage bill and holding talks with a political authority that has legal decision-making power, either Parliament or a legitimately appointed government. For three days, approximately 480 hospitals across the country handled only emergency cases and about one-third of their usual medical services.
NATO. Spain is deploying a detachment of approximately 200 military from its Air and Space Force to the Mihail Kogălniceanu air base in Romania (south-eastern Romania, near the Black Sea) to contribute to the NATO air policing mission there. The Spanish Ministry of Defence announced that the detachment will have seven fighter jets at its disposal throughout the mission’s four-month duration. During the first two months, the Spanish troops will be supported by an aerial refuelling tanker, while three helicopters designed to counter drones will also be deployed to Romania for the final phase.
Wildfires. Between August 1 and September 15, a Romanian unit specialising in forest firefighting will participate in a pre-positioning programme in Greece organised by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. The first contingent, comprising 40 firefighters and technical equipment, left on Thursday and will be stationed in Nea Makri, in the Attica region, approximately 25 km north-east of Athens. Personnel rotations are scheduled for August 16 and 31, when two additional contingents, each consisting of 40 firefighters, will take over duties from the personnel currently on the mission near the Greek capital. Meanwhile, a new contingent of Romanian firefighters, the third, is assisting colleagues in France in their battle with wildfires, following Romania’s decision to extend its participation in this support mission by another two weeks. The personnel rotation will take place on August 1, when the 40 Romanian firefighters making up the new contingent will take on operational responsibilities from their colleagues from the current rotation.
Drought. The Danube basin is facing extreme drought. The river’s flow rate has dropped dramatically, severely affecting energy production, navigation, agriculture, and tourism. Hydrologists are warning that the situation will worsen in the coming days as the water level rate at Baziaş, where the river enters Romania, is expected to drop to nearly 1,600 cubic meters per second, about one-third of the multi-year average for this month. At Porţile de Fier near Drobeta-Turnu Severin, two joint Romanian-Serbian hydroelectric plants are operating at just a quarter of their installed capacity. Vessels cannot be loaded to maximum capacity and a notice to navigators has been issued recommending the use of the Serbian lock. The lowest flow rate recorded on the river in the last 41 years was 1,400 cubic meters per second, back in 1985.
Football. The Romanian football team CFR Cluj comfortably qualified for the third qualifying round of the Conference League after defeating the Armenian side FC Alashkert 3-0 (2-nil) at home on Thursday evening in the second leg of the competition’s second qualifying round. Meanwhile, CFR’s local rival, Universitatea, were eliminated by the Norwegian side Brann Bergen, who defeated them 3-1 following a 2-all draw in Cluj. FCSB were also eliminated, losing 1-4 to Auda in Latvia after a 2–3 defeat in Bucharest. On Wednesday, Romania’s football champions, Universitatea Craiova, were eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers after a 2-all home draw against the Bulgarian side Levski Sofia in the second leg of the second round. The Bulgarians had won the first leg 1-nil in Sofia the previous week. Craiova will now face the Finnish team KuPS Kuopio in the third qualifying round of the Europa League. (CM)
