October 14, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 14.10.2026, 19:55
Drones. Romania and Bulgaria will work closely together to promote the adoption of stronger measures to counter drones, at European Union and NATO level, with a view to ensuring the safety of commercial shipping in the Black Sea. On Wednesday, President Nicuşor Dan held a telephone conversation with his Bulgarian counterpart, Iliana Iotova, regarding the recent drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea. These attacks are a direct consequence of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and endanger not only maritime navigation in our region but also the supply of essential agricultural products to other continents. The separate attacks on two commercial vessels, on the night between Monday and Tuesday, near the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, have also caused concern at NATO and EU level.
Government. Romania’s new prime minister-designate, the diplomat and former journalist Luca Niculescu, is due to present his government programme and the list of ministers in his team on Thursday. He has been given a free hand by President Nicuşor Dan to negotiate either a political cabinet, a technocratic one, or a mixed formula. Niculescu is the fourth nominee put forward by Dan for the post of prime minister, following the dismissal by Parliament, via a motion of no confidence on 5 May, of the minority PNL-USR-UDMR government led by the Liberal Ilie Bolojan. The PSD decided on Wednesday to join Luca Niculescu’s government. The UDMR has stated that it will support the new Executive, whilst the USR has said it will not vote for a cabinet that includes Social Democrats. The Liberals would support a Luca Niculescu cabinet, on the basis of a political agreement, without joining the government.
Aircraft. The Romanian Minister of Defence, Radu Miruță, who is acting in an interim capacity, and the US Ambassador to Romania, Darryl Nirenberg, attended a handover ceremony for a C-130H Hercules aircraft on Wednesday at a military base near Bucharest. According to the Romanian Ministry of Defence (MApN), the aircraft was transferred free of charge by the US Government through the Excess Defence Articles (EDA) Programme. This is the eighth C-130H Hercules aircraft to be added to the Romanian Armed Forces’ inventory through the EDA Programme. Furthermore, the event highlighted the nearly 30-year Strategic Partnership between Romania and the US, demonstrating its tangible results in the field of defence, the MApN stated.
Ukraine. The President of Romania, Nicuşor Dan, welcomed the enactment by his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, of legislative amendments concerning the right of national minorities to education in their mother tongue. Consequently, the children of Romanians living in Ukraine will be able to study in their mother tongue in schools in the neighbouring country. “The new provisions clarify that the mother tongue may be used in all circumstances, not just during school lessons,” said Nicuşor Dan. He gave assurances that efforts would continue, in collaboration with the community and the Ukrainian authorities, to ensure that the implementation of the legislation offers Romanian children the opportunity to study in their mother tongue, including at secondary school level. The legislative change comes against the backdrop of Ukraine’s accession process to the European Union and is aimed specifically at minorities whose languages are official languages of the EU
Eurostat. Romanians are the European citizens who travel the most within their own country, according to Eurostat data. 89 per cent of journeys made by Romanians in 2025, whether for business or personal reasons, were to a destination within their own country. Romania is followed by Spain, with 87 per cent, and by Greece, France and Portugal, each with 85 per cent. At the other end of the scale is Luxembourg, where only 5 per cent of journeys were domestic. In terms of expenditure on their travels, Europeans spend more when travelling abroad. Although they travel much more frequently within their own country, expenditure on these trips totalled around 266 billion euros, whilst more money – 380 billion euros – was spent on the fewer trips abroad.
Ambassadors. Romania’s acting Prime Minister, Ilie Bolojan, met on Wednesday with the ambassadors of the EU Member States and the European Commission’s representative accredited in Bucharest, whom he thanked for their continued support. According to a government press release, Mr Bolojan congratulated the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU on its work to date and wished it continued success, given the challenges facing the EU and its member states. The agenda for the meeting also included, amongst other things, the measures adopted by the Romanian Government to balance the budget and ensure energy security, the press release states. (MI)
