August 27, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 27.08.2026, 19:50
Moldova anniversary. Romanian president Nicușor Dan attended events in Chișinău on Thursday marking the Independence Day of the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population. He was received by Moldova’s pro-Western president Maia Sandu at the Presidential Palace in Chișinău, where the two leaders held a private meeting. Talks looked at European integration, energy security, interconnection projects, resilience and countering disinformation and hybrid threats. Nicușor Dan extended congratulations to his Moldovan counterpart and the citizens of the Republic of Moldova on the anniversary of their country’s Independence Day, along with wishes for peace, prosperity and security within the European family. He highlighted that the meeting served as “further proof of the closeness between Romania and the Republic of Moldova” and of the “special relationship based on a shared history, language, culture and traditions.” Later in the day, the Republic of Moldova-Romania-Ukraine three-party meeting took place in Chișinău. After the talks, Nicușor Dan reiterated Romania’s support for the European path of the two neighbouring states, as well as for Ukraine in the face of aggression by the Russian Federation. President Maia Sandu said that “independence is stronger when it is supported by solid links and reliable partners,” while the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Romania and the Republic of Moldova for their support.
Funding. On Thursday, the Government approved a decision regarding the allocation of funds granted to Romania under the Securing Europe’s Future instrument (SAFE). According to a statement issued by the government, the funds, totalling over 16.6 billion euros, are allocated to the institutions tasked with implementing projects included in the European Defence Industry Investment Plan. On Wednesday, Bucharest received an initial payment of 2.5 billion euros, accounting for 15% of the entire amount allocated to Romania by the European Commission. The Ministry of Defence is set to receive the largest share, nearly 10 billion euros, followed by the Ministry of Transport, with over 4 billion euros. Other entities receiving funding under this European programme include the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Protection and Guard Service and the Special Telecommunications Service.
Romania-US. “Romania is not asking America for more. Romania is offering to do more”, said Romania’s Nicușor Dan in an opinion piece published on the Fox News website on Thursday, in which he also says that gratitude must be matched by responsibility. He gave assurances that Romania is prepared to invest in and modernise its military capabilities alongside its allies and, first and foremost, the US. At the same time, he warns that Russia “is a growing threat that America and Europe cannot afford to ignore.” Nicușor Dan further notes that Romania holds a key strategic position, situated on NATO’s south-eastern flank along the Black Sea and sharing the longest border with Ukraine. He also points out that Romanian airspace has been repeatedly violated by drones, with drone parts falling on the country’s territory. According to president Nicușor Dan, Bucharest has committed to raising defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, in line with the new target set at NATO level.
Film. “Fjord”, the latest work by Romanian film-maker Cristian Mungiu, will be screened at the Oslo/PIX Film Festival, which runs until August 30, in the capital of Norway. The winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the film will close the festival with 3 screenings in the presence of the director and team members, with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute and the Romanian Embassy in Norway. “Fjord” tells the story of a Romanian-Norwegian family who move from Romania to a small town in Norway. When the school suspects that the parents use physical punishment on their children, the intervention of the institutions triggers a conflict between the different values and outlooks on family, education, individual freedom and government responsibility. Starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, alongside Ellen Dorrit Petersen and Lisa Loven Kongsli, the film was described by the French daily Le Monde as “a clash of opposing worlds”.
