November 2, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 02.11.2026, 19:51
Trade unions. Romanian Prime Minister Luca Niculescu and several ministers, including the Ministers of Finance and Labour, held talks with representatives of the country’s five major trade union confederations. The latter primarily called for an increase in the national minimum wage for the coming year, as well as the start of negotiations for a new unified wage law for public sector employees. The unionists threatened to launch protests if existing legislation is not upheld and the national minimum wage is not raised. They call for the new wage law to be finalised by next spring, with implementation to take place in stages starting July 1st. Employers’ associations, however, said businesses can no longer withstand further increases in wage-related costs and called for an easing of the fiscal burden and for taxes and duties not to be raised. Talks also looked at the pension law, with union representatives pointing out that individuals who worked under special conditions are losing money; they proposed the Government a solution to tackle the situation. A potential increase in pensions and wages is also supported by the Liberals (formerly in government, now in opposition). They said they are not opposed to raising the population’s income, provided that such measures remain fiscally sustainable.
Bulgaria. Romanian President Nicușor Dan has congratulated Ilyana Yotova following her victory in the Bulgarian presidential election. Writing on X, president Dan said: “Congratulations, Ilyana Yotova, on your election as President of Bulgaria! I look forward to working closely together and deepening our bilateral cooperation. As neighbors, EU partners and NATO allies, we have much to do for the security and development of our region, starting with the Black Sea. I look forward to welcoming President Yotova to Romania soon”. Bulgaria’s interim president, Ilyana Yotova, who is in favour of dialogue with Moscow to end the war in Ukraine, won Sunday’s poll with around 57% of the vote. She defeated former interim prime minister Andrey Gyurov, who had the backing of the pro-Western opposition. The election follows a series of drone attacks on commercial shipping off the Bulgarian coast over the past month, which drew international condemnation and heightened concerns over the fallout from the conflict in Ukraine.
Reserves. The hard currency reserves of the National Bank of Romania have decreased by over 6 billion euros over the last two months, now standing at 58.55 billion euros. According to the Central Bank, one of the reasons for this was a peak in public debt repayments in September. Meanwhile, gold reserves remained steady at 103 tonnes, accounting for nearly 12 billion euros. The National Bank of Romania also indicated that public debt payments due in November, whether direct or guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance, amount to approximately 1.5 billion euros.
Defence. Romanian defence minister Radu Oprea said the security of the Republic of Moldova is closely linked to that of Romania, emphasising the need to strengthen defence cooperation between the two neighbouring states, particularly regarding the exchange of information. He made this statement after the signing of documents through which the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Moldova becomes a partner in the SAFE project on Multifunctional wheeled transport platforms. Under this agreement, the two states will jointly acquire nearly 3,000 multifunctional wheeled transport platforms (military vehicles manufactured by the company Iveco). The Minister also highlighted the significance of Romania’s participation in this project, which marks a first in terms of coordinating joint procurements and carried out alongside the Republic of Moldova within the framework of the SAFE programme. Minister Radu Oprea also spoke about the development of Romania’s defence industry and the possibility that the domestic production be supplied to external partners as well. (CM)
