August 18, 2026

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 18.08.2026, 13:55

Energy. Unit 4 at the Rovinari coal-fired power station was connected to the national grid today, after the relevant ministry in Bucharest requested that the unit be brought out of reserve. The approximately 300 megawatts of additional power generated at Rovinari are due to be fed into the grid this very afternoon, to cover part of the shortfall caused by the controlled shutdown of Unit 2 at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Station, due to low water levels in the Danube, which are unable to provide sufficient cooling for the reactor. The State Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Cristian Buşoi, stated that, should the drought continue, Reactor 2 at Cernavodă will not be able to resume operations within the next 10 days.

Transport. The Federation of Romanian Transport Operators (FORT) is calling on Parliament to amend the law on the temporary adjustment of fuel excise duty in line with market developments and to introduce effective controls on the capping of trade margins, the organisation’s president, Beniamin Lucescu, said today.  He added that the Federation had also asked the Competition Council to examine the breakdown of prices. FORT is calling for the normalisation of prices and profit margins in the fuel sector, so that they reflect actual market trends and do not adversely affect the Romanian economy. Hauliers argue that, whilst the price per barrel of oil is well below the highs reached during the conflict in the Middle East, diesel prices in Romania have reached historic levels. Romanian transporters, businesses and millions of consumers are facing ever-increasing costs, and the economy as a whole is losing competitiveness, explain FORT representatives. According to the Ministry of Finance, the temporary 20 per cent reduction in excise duty on standard diesel applies from 16 to 31 August 2026. The measure responds to the significant rise in international prices and prices at gas stations and aims to ease the pressure on the population and the economy.

CCR. Monday’s decision by the Constitutional Court on the integrity law – a key milestone in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) – obliges the Parliament in Bucharest to convene swiftly for a new extraordinary session, in order to bring the legislation into line with constitutional provisions and adopt it by the end of the month, thereby safeguarding nearly 800 million euros from the PNRR. The constitutional judges rejected the requirement for unmarried partners of public officials to declare their assets, but upheld the amendment that removes the mandate of mayors found to be in a position of incompatibility. USR leader Dominic Fritz is directly affected and could lose his position as mayor of Timişoara (west) within 30 days. Whilst the USR leader accuses the government of an abuse of power and argues that the law cannot be applied retrospectively, Social Democrat Sorin Grindeanu rejects the accusations and calls for the application of the principle that “no one with a criminal conviction should hold public office”.

Firefighters. A new contingent of 40 Romanian firefighters has taken over in Greece from their colleagues who, over the past two weeks, have been assisting the Greek authorities with fire-fighting operations and monitoring high-risk areas in eastern Athens. According to the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, the Romanian firefighters from the first rotation responded to fires that broke out in several areas of the Attica region and took part in training sessions and joint exercises alongside Greek teams and French forces deployed in Greece. The assistance programme, funded by the European Union, was designed as a measure to support communities across Europe that had been severely affected by the devastating fires of previous years.

Eurobarometer. Public expenditure on education (from nursery school to secondary school) in the European Union accounted for 4.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, a figure that remained unchanged compared with 2022, according to data published on Tuesday by Eurostat. Among the Member States, the highest level of public spending on education, as a percentage of GDP, was recorded in Sweden (6.8 per cent), followed by Finland (6.3 per cent) and Belgium (6.2 per cent). At the other end of the scale, the lowest levels were recorded in Romania (3 per cent of GDP), Greece (3.3 per cent) and Malta (3.4 per cent).

Trump. President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level of his presidency, with an overwhelming majority of Americans concerned that the US war with Iran will drag on for a long time, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday. Only 33 per cent of respondents to the four-day poll said they approved of Trump’s performance in the White House, whilst 64 per cent disapproved. President Trump’s approval rating – down from the 35 per cent recorded in a previous poll this month, and lower than at any other point during his current term – has now matched the previous low set in December 2017. Having returned to the White House last year with the support of just under half the country’s population for his presidency, Donald Trump’s popularity has suffered this year following his order to launch attacks against Iran, alongside Israel, a US ally. The resulting conflict has paralysed a fifth of global oil trade, causing a sharp rise in petrol prices, which is putting pressure on American households as well as on Trump’s Republican allies, writes Reuters.

Tennis. Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea (WTA No. 19) has qualified for the last 16 of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Cincinnati (Ohio), which offers total prize money of $7,433,076, after Russia’s Ana Kalinskaia (WTA No. 21) retired with the score at 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 5-0. In the round of 16, Sorana Cîrstea will face American Jessica Pegula (WTA No. 3), who defeated her compatriot Emma Navarro 7-5, 6-2 in the previous round. Meanwhile, Sorana Cîrstea has withdrawn from the doubles competition, in which she was due to partner Russian player Mirra Andreeva against the pair of Sara Errani (Italy) and Leylah Fernandez (Canada). (MI)