September 18, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 18.09.2026, 20:15
SUMMIT The Carpathian countries must cooperate better in order to build roads and border check points to consolidate energy connections, promote tourism, economic and cultural exchanges, to protect nature and attract investment, says the Romanian President Nicusor Dan who on Friday participated in the first Summit of the Initiative for Carpathian Integration. “I was glad to participate in this major event promoting regional integration, good vicinity relations, cohesion and coordination, in full complementarity with the existing regional mechanisms. Half of the Carpathian mountain range crosses Romania and our involvement is therefore significant,” Nicusor Dan wrote on a social network. According to him, Romania is a staunch supporter of the European path and “the initiative for Carpathian Integration can serve as and additional instrument for the European integration of the candidate countries. Last but not least, this format can capitalize upon the linguistic and cultural heritage of the Carpathian region, which is going to make the protection of the minorities’ rights a priority,” the Romanian President has also said. On the sidelines of the summit on Friday, the Romanian president held talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on the necessity of stepping up the project on building together drones within the SAFE programme. According to the Romanian president, the talks he had in Kyiv with Zelensky also focused on the transit of the Ukrainian grain through Romania. President Dan has attended the summit in Ukraine upon the invitation of his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, together with representatives from the countries crossed by the Carpathians, such as Austria, Czechia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine as well as other players relevant in terms of regional cooperation.
CABINET Romania’s Prime Minister designate, Siegfried Muresan, on Friday announced he would start writing the ruling programme jointly with the PNL, USR and UDMR, and he would be presenting its priorities early next week. In a press statement jointly with the leaders of the three parties, he underlined the fact that Romania needs a ‘serious, credible government as soon as possible, a government to carry on the reform measures, the projects and programmes started in the past year. In turn, the Liberal president and interim Prime Minister, Ilie Bolojan, has announced the PNL is backing a government, which comes up with fair measures. “We intend to have a serious government, with a clear and positive vision for Romania, which is not based on hatred but on confidence in the capabilities of Romanians”, the USR leader Dominic Fritz has said. Through the voice of his president, Sorin Grindeanu, the PSD had earlier announced the Social Democrats would not vote a government headed by Muresan. Another refusal has also come from the nationalist opposition represented by the AUR, which has described the president’s proposal a failure. Romania’s President, Nicusor Dan, has said that on Saturday he will sign a decree nominating Siegfried Muresan for the position of Prime Minister and it will be published in the Official Gazette on Monday. Since the moment of publication, Muresan has 10 days to negotiate with the Parliament parties so that he may get 233 of the votes he needs for the investiture of his cabinet.
TENNIS Romania is leading Indonesia 2-0 after the first single matches of the first round of the Davis Cup’s World Group 2, held in Jakarta, Indonesia on Friday. In the second single match, the young Romanian player Radu Mihai Papoe secured a three-set win, 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 against Rafalentino Ali Da Costa. In the first match, Cezar Cretu of Romania clinched a two-set win 6-2, 6-4, against Gunawan Trismuwantara. Saturday will see the double match pitching Stefan Horia Haita and David Turcanu against Rafalentino Ali Da Costa and Ethan David Zapp. It will be followed by two single games, when Cezar Cretu takes on Ali Da Costa and Papoe plays Trismuwantara. Romania comes 46th in the in a world ranking whereas Indonesia 65th. The two sides have met in the Davis Cup for the first time now.
INDUSTRY According to Eurostat, Romania’s industrial production saw the second-largest decline in the European Union, trailing only Bulgaria. In July, this indicator was 6.3% lower in Romania than in the same month last year, while Bulgaria recorded a 6.8% drop. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Netherlands saw an 8.2% increase in industrial production over the year, followed by Croatia with a 7% rise and Lithuania with 6.5%. Denmark, Finland, Hungary and Poland also recorded growth exceeding 4%. However, Germany’s industrial sector contracted by 2.2%, France’s by 0.7%, and Italy’s remained stagnant. Across the European bloc as a whole, industrial production rose by 0.3%. Romania’s negative record also impacted the country’s competitiveness relative to global economies, so Romania fell 11 places in the global competitiveness rankings, according to the latest report on the subject.
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