August 1, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 01.08.2026, 20:00
WEATHER A red code heatwave warning will be in effect from Sunday morning until Monday morning in western and northwestern Romania, where the heatwave will last for a third consecutive day. The highs will reach 40 degrees Celsius, with a temperature-humidity index (ITU) above the critical 80-unit threshold. An orange code warning has also been issued for the north and west of the country, with highs of 38 degrees Celsius, while a yellow code warning will be in place in the northeast, centre and southeast. Elsewhere in the country, the weather remains hot, with increasing thermal discomfort and highs between 27 and 40 degrees Celsius.
RATING President Nicuşor Dan Saturday welcomed the Fitch report that reconfirms Romania’s financial stability. The rating agency keeps Romania’s sovereign rating at BBB- with negative outlooks, according to an official rating report posted on the institution’s website. Fitch says its decision to maintain Romania just one notch above the junk category, not recommended for investments, is mainly the consequence of political uncertainty, which sheds doubt that the effort to reduce the budget deficit, otherwise appreciated by the evaluators, will be carried on. The social costs of measures aimed at cutting the deficit and electoral considerations, says Fitch, make progress even more fragile. However, the financial rating agency estimates that in 2026 the budget deficit will stand at 5.9% of GDP, below Bucharest’s 6% target, and will only reach 5% in 2028. In the document, Fitch also mentions the risk that public debt will continue to increase, putting additional pressure on the state, given the inflation and the depreciation of the national currency, as 53% of the debt is in foreign currency. The agency predicts that this year the economy will contract by 0.6% and will only return to positive growth in 2028, somewhere around 2.3%. Inflation will reach 7.6% in 2026 and only in 2028 will it drop to 3.8%.
ALERT Romania is facing one of the worst drought periods in recent years, with the Danube water flow dropping to almost 3 times below the multi-annual average for the month, close to its all-time low, according to the Romanian Waters Agency. The government of Romania has declared a nation-wide state of alert for the month of August, because of the fall in the electricity output entailed by the drought. The caretaker PM Ilie Bolojan announced he had talks with Ukraine’s deputy PM in charge with energy, about support for Romania in high electricity demand periods. Bucharest is also discussing with partners in Bulgaria and Greece to increase imports. Ilie Bolojan added that all national production facilities were requested to work at full capacity so as to preserve the balance in the national energy system. He also called for voluntary electricity saving, especially in the evening.
WILDFIRES Between August 1 and September 15, a Romanian unit specialising in forest fire-fighting takes part in a pre-positioning programme in Greece organised by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. The mission is designed to support the Greek authorities in consolidating response capacity and managing the risks triggered by wildfires. A first Romanian contingent, comprising 40 fire-fighters and technical equipment, left on Thursday and will be stationed in Nea Makri, in the Attica region, approx. 25 km north-east of Athens. Personnel rotations are scheduled for August 16 and 31, when two additional units, each consisting of 40 fire-fighters, will take over duties from the personnel currently on mission near the Greek capital. Meanwhile, a new unit of Romanian fire-fighters, the third one so far, 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 takes place on August 1, when 40 Romanian fire-fighters are to take on operational responsibilities from their colleagues from the current rotation.
PARLIAMENT The Chamber of Deputies will convene in a new extraordinary session between August 3 and 6, the Standing Bureau decided. The agenda will include the new bill on the integrity of civil servants and legislation already endorsed by the Senate, as the first chamber notified. According to the schedule, Deputies will work in committees on Monday, and then debate and vote on the draft laws in a plenary meeting. On Tuesday and Thursday, they will work only in committees, and on Wednesday a plenary meeting with a final vote is scheduled. Senators will also convene in an extraordinary session next week. The Senate is to discuss and vote on other draft laws related to the milestones undertaken in the PNRR.
ROWING Romania won 4 medals, including 2 gold, one silver and one bronze on Saturday, the first day of the European Rowing Championships finals in Varese, Italy. Both gold medals were won in the double sculls race. The men’s four sculls team won the silver, while Romania won bronze in the women’s four-sculls. (AMP)
