The Week in Review
The main stories in Romania this past week.
Sorin Iordan, 05.09.2026, 14:00
Bucharest hosts diplomatic service meeting
Bucharest this week hosted the annual meeting of the Romanian diplomatic service, which brought together heads of diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad, foreign ambassadors and senior officials. The theme of this edition was “Diplomacy, the anchor of a changing world”, and the agenda of talks focused on economic growth, security and strengthening trust and relations with the Romanian communities abroad. Strengthening security, the Romanian communities abroad and economic diplomacy are the three main objectives of Romania’s foreign policy, said President Nicuşor Dan in his address to the diplomatic corps, adding that Romania is a contributor to transatlantic security, and that of the Eastern Flank and of its region. Dan also spoke about major regional interconnection projects and announced that gas exploitation through the offshore Neptun Deep project will begin next year. The president also spoke of the urgent need to solve a series of administrative issues in the system, such as the situation of some consulates and the delayed rotation of diplomats. Furthermore, the president reiterated Romania’s support for the integration of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine into the European Union and said that the relationship with Chisinau remains an extremely important aspect for Romanian foreign policy. Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Ţoiu, said the process of Romania’s accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is one of the most important goals of the Romanian foreign service this year and that, of all the states wishing to join, Romania has made the most significant progress.
EU post-pandemic recovery fund reached implementation deadline
The National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the European package of reforms and public investments for the post-pandemic period, has come to an end. Until the final day, which was August 31, Romania tried to formally close as many projects as possible and pass legislation to be able to meet the commitments and milestones undertaken. A new Cardiovascular Surgery Center was inaugurated in Târgu Mureş (center), and another section of almost 50 km was opened to traffic on the A7 highway, in the east of the country. The amount attracted under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan amounted to 13.5 billion euros in non-reimbursable funds and approximately 7 billion euros in loans. Overall, Romania managed to attract and invest over 90% of the non-reimbursable funds made available by the European Union through this programme, said interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan. He added that Romania will have achieved important investments in large infrastructure, modernised and electrified railways, hospitals and schools in almost all county capitals, as well as energy efficiency projects. The Prime Minister said that substantial funds were lost, however, for example 770 million euros owing to failure to pass the public sector salary reform bill and another almost 100 million euros for incomplete measures in the field of decarbonization. Of the over 15,000 investment projects undertaken, almost 4,500 are still unfinished or not formally closed. Compared to the rest of the European Union, Romania is at the bottom of the ranking in terms of the percentage of funds absorbed in effect, managing to secure only approximately 61% of the total sum allocated. The biggest sums were attracted by Spain and Italy, with an absorption rate of 90-100%, followed by Portugal and Greece, with an absorption rate of 80-85 percent.
European Council president Antonio Costa travels to Bucharest
Romanian President, Nicuşor Dan, received, on Thursday, in Bucharest, President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, who was on a consultation visit on Romania’s priorities and concerns. Dan said that the main topic was the negotiation of the future EU budget for the period 2028-2034. He said Romania would like an “ambitious” future European Union budget, with substantial allocations for Cohesion and Agriculture, which would allow Romania to bride the gap separating it from other European countries. The president of the EU Council Antonio Costa said that recent violations of Romanian airspace, as well as incidents involving maritime drones, are “deeply concerning” and the EU will continue to stand firmly with Romania, because the security of Romania is Europe’s security as well. “We must continue to work united for a just and lasting peace”, Costa said. Last but not least, he welcomed the strong support Romania has provided to the Republic of Moldova on its path towards the European Union. The European Council President also travelled to Bulgaria, Greece, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia and Luxembourg.
Russia’s actions cause outrage in EU capitals
The Romanian Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to Bucharest, Vladimir Lipaev, to explain the drone incident that took place last month at Leipzig airport, which Germany says was mastermind by Russia. Acting Foreign Minister Oana Ţoiu said that Bucharest stands in solidarity with Berlin and other European capitals that have faced Russia’s hybrid activities, interference and reckless and insistent provocations, which Romania has also experienced. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that incidents such as the sabotage with Russian drones in Germany have become the “new normal” and mark a new escalation of Russian activity on European Union territory. She said that if the attack had succeeded, it would have caused enormous damage and, possibly, even loss of human life. The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Mark Rutte, said that Russia has grown “increasingly reckless” as it continues its large-scale invasion of Ukraine, but that the unity of the allies is unwavering. Several member states have summoned Moscow’s representatives for explanations after German police identified the DNA of two men with Russian passports suspected of bringing the drone with explosives to Leipzig airport.
Romanian Language Day is celebrated across three countries
Romanian Language Day was celebrated on August 31, in Romania, the Republic of Moldova and for the first time in Ukraine. Thus, a special meeting was organized simultaneously at both the Romanian Academy and the Academy of Sciences of Moldova. Also, an event dedicated to handwriting in Romanian, entitled “The Great National Dictation”, took place in the Senate in Bucharest, in which children and adults from different backgrounds participated. They were invited to write, after dictation, a fragment from Queen Maria’s diary. A similar event took place in Chisinau. Over 2,500 people gathered in the center of the Moldovan capital and transcribed a fragment from the work of the actor, director, playwright and humorist Gheorghe Urschi, nicknamed the “king of humor” in the Republic of Moldova. Romanian Language Day was also marked in Cernauti, in Ukraine. Representatives of the local administration, the Romanian diplomatic service in Ukraine, and the Romanian community in the region laid wreaths at the statues of Taras Shevchenko and Mihai Eminescu, the former considered the national poet of Ukraine, and the latter, the most influential figure in Romanian literature. “We are witnessing a historic moment, because, for the first time, Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine celebrate Romanian Language Day on the same day,” said Romania’s ambassador to Kyiv, Victor Micula. He welcomed the decision of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to officially recognise the Romanian language and to hold this celebration in this neighbouring country as well.
