July 16, 2024

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 16.07.2025, 13:55

PNNR. Projects worth €6.3 billion included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) can no longer be completed by the deadline of August 2026, announced on Tuesday the Minister of Investments and European Projects, Dragoş Pîslaru. However, he gave assurances that Romania would not lose any of the non-reimbursable funding. Dragoş Pîslaru presented the conclusions of the meeting of the Interministerial Committee for the Coordination of the PNRR, with explanations about the negotiations currently taking place for Brussels to accept the changes desired by the Romanian authorities, so as not to lose funds from the PNRR.

Rating. Fitch Ratings has announced that the implementation of the latest consolidation package announced by the authorities in Bucharest will be reflected in its new revised fiscal forecasts to be published on August 15, when the next review of Romania’s country rating (‘BBB minus, negative outlook’) is scheduled. Reducing the deficit and stabilizing debt are essential for the sovereign rating, according to a Fitch press release. According to the agency, significant fiscal consolidation will put pressure on economic growth, and implementation risks cannot be ruled out. More than half of the additional revenue forecast for this year comes from a two percentage point increase in the standard VAT rate to 21% and the unification of the reduced rates of 5% and 9% into a single rate of 11% starting in August. This will lead to higher inflation, further eroding real incomes, the rating agency estimates. All three major rating agencies (S&P Global Ratings, Moody’s, and Fitch) have a “negative” outlook on Romania’s sovereign rating, which puts the country one step away from a “junk” rating (not recommended for investment).

Visit. Romanian President Nicuşor Dan will pay official visits to Germany and Austria, focusing on the economic component of foreign policy. At the end of this week, he will travel to Germany to meet with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as with representative businesspeople from that country. On July 25 and 26, Nicuşor Dan will be in Austria, where he has scheduled meetings with President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Christian Stocker, and will also attend a business forum. The two countries account for over 25% of foreign direct investment in Romania.

Ukraine. At least 11 people were wounded in Ukraine in Russian attacks on Tuesday night, authorities in several affected regions said, FP reports. Russia has been targeting Ukrainian cities with air strikes almost daily as part of its offensive launched in February 2022. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that weapons had already been sent to Ukraine, Reuters reports. On Monday, Trump pledged to provide additional military equipment to Kyiv and gave Russia 50 days to end the war.

Football. Romanian football champions FCSB Bucharest qualified for the second qualifying round of the Champions League, despite losing 2-1 away to Andorran title holders Inter Club d’Escaldes on Tuesday evening in the second leg of the first qualifying round. FCSB advances thanks to a 3-1 victory at home. The Bucharest team’s opponent in the second qualifying round of the Champions League will be KF Shkendija, the North Macedonian champion, which defeated the Welsh team The New Saints. Three other Romanian teams are competing in the European preliminaries: CFR Cluj (northwest) in the Europa League and Universitatea Craiova (south) and Universitatea Cluj, both in the Conference League.

Weather. The heatwave persists in areas of southern and southeastern Romania, where thermal discomfort is high and the temperature-humidity index (THI) slightly exceeds the critical threshold of 80 units. In the rest of the country, temperatures are falling compared to the previous day, and atmospheric instability is increasing, especially in hilly and mountainous areas. There are temporarily heavy clouds, torrential showers, lightning, short-lived wind gusts, and isolated storms and hailstorms. Maximum temperatures will generally range between 25 and 35 degrees. In Bucharest, the weather will be hot, with a maximum temperature of 35 degrees. At noon, the temperature was 30 degrees Celsius. (MI)