August 11, 2026
A roundup of domestic and world news
Newsroom, 11.08.2026, 13:55
Cernavoda – Unit 2 of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant (southeast) will be shut down within the next 48 hours, the Romanian Waters National Administration announced, after the Danube’s water level dropped below the critical safety threshold of minus 230 cm. At the same time, the river’s flow rate at the country’s border has reached a record low of just 1,370 cubic meters per second, and no precipitation is forecast for the Danube basin over the next week. On Monday, the interim government in Bucharest allocated approximately 5 million lei (about 1 million euros) for work on the Danube aimed at ensuring the water flow needed to operate Reactor 2 of the power plant, the only one currently in operation, which provides about 10% of the country’s energy needs but must be temporarily shut down due to current conditions. The funds are earmarked for urgent dredging work on the river and the temporary redistribution of water flow at the junction of the Bala and Dunărea Veche branches; riverbed deepening operations are planned in two critical areas, from which approximately 100,000 cubic meters of material will be extracted. Even if the plant is shut down, work will continue to allow the reactor to resume operations a few days earlier, once the Danube’s water level begins to rise. The issue of the low Danube water level is also being discussed today in Brussels. The European Commission’s Electricity Coordination Group is meeting online today, and participating countries intend to request support.
Talks – President Nicuşor Dan has today convened the leaders of the former governing coalition (PSD, PNL, USR, and UDMR) in an effort to break the deadlock on the unified pay scale bill, which must be adopted by the end of this month to prevent Romania from losing 770 million euros from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The discussions aim to reach a political agreement that would allow the law to be voted on during an extraordinary session of Parliament. The bill is opposed both by labor unions, which have organized protests and even strikes in the public sector, and by political parties and some of the ministries involved. Acting Labor Minister Dragoş Pîslaru has made a new public appeal to political leaders to pass the law, and regarding discussions with the unions, he emphasized that negotiations on sensitive areas, such as education and health care, have made considerable progress following mediation by the Presidential Administration. The acting Prime Minister and PNL President, Ilie Bolojan, says that the draft law on the unified pay system could be passed by Parliament in a week or two, provided there is effort and understanding on the part of all political leaders. The PSD has announced that it does not support the bill in its current form and that the law requires amendments to bring it into line with the demands of labor unions and other socio-professional groups. Attila Cseke, the acting health minister from the UDMR, stated, in turn, that the ministry will not support any legislation that could reduce the incomes of employees in the sector, while the AUR says the draft salary law is poorly constructed and calls for the elimination of privileges and a reduction in bureaucracy.
Law – President Nicușor Dan filed a challenge with the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) against the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Legislative Acts in the Field of Integrity. The petition, posted on the website of the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, states that, due to its substantive provisions, the law was adopted in violation of certain constitutional provisions. Among these are the provision mandating the retroactive application of penalties and the provision extending the obligation to declare assets to include life partners, not just the spouses of public officials. Another contested point concerns the three-year ban on holding public office if a person is definitively found to be in a state of incompatibility or conflict of interest. The law, passed last week by Parliament, has already been challenged by the PNL and USR before the Constitutional Court. Nicușor Dan challenged the law recently adopted by Parliament, arguing that, although updating integrity legislation is necessary and represents a commitment undertaken by Romania through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), some of the new provisions are arbitrary and violate the Constitution.
Session – The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest is convening today for a new extraordinary session, the third this summer. Lawmakers will spend two days debating pending legislation that has already been adopted by the Senate. One of the bills provides for financial support measures for people with disabilities, designed to enable them to live in the community without being institutionalized, such as a monthly allowance to cover housing-related expenses and utility bills, and a transitional benefit to assist them in leaving specialized centers and settling into their new homes. Another bill currently under consideration by lawmakers establishes, among other things, an increase from 40% to 60% in the partial payments made in response to reimbursement claims submitted by electricity and natural gas providers under the cap-and-compensation schemes. The committees will also debate a proposal that transactions involving state-owned real estate or assets valued at over 500,000 lei (approximately 100,000 Euros) should be approved by government decree, and that all such assets be valued at market value.
Swimming – Romanian swimmer David Popovici, an Olympic, world, and European champion, qualified for the semifinals of the 100-meter freestyle with the fastest time in the heats, 47.13 seconds, on Tuesday at the European Swimming Championships in Paris. The semifinals will take place this evening, and the final is scheduled for Wednesday evening. David Popovici is the top favorite in the flagship event. Romania is participating with 11 athletes in the European Swimming Championships in the French capital. On Saturday, Cătălin Preda won the gold medal in the 20-meter platform diving event (high diving). (LS)
