January 4, 2026

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 04.01.2026, 14:09

FLIGHTS – Several flights were significantly delayed or canceled on Saturday evening at Bucharest’s Henri Coandă International Airport. The main causes of the delays were bad weather conditions in West European countries, including France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. At least one flight was canceled, namely a flight to Amsterdam, and a flight to Tel-Aviv, which did not take off and was rescheduled for today. Another notable case is that of the flight to Hurghada, which was delayed by approximately 10 hours, due to a technical problem of the aircraft. Passengers are advised to check the status of their flights directly with the air operators and to follow the updates displayed at the airport.

SURVEY – About 4 out of 10 Romanians believe that 2026 will be better for them personally, but, collectively, almost half think that the new year will be worse for Romania than 2025. Inflation, the political situation and health are the main concerns, according to the results of an IRES survey, conducted in December 2025. At the same time, respondents say, the main issues that the authorities should address are reducing prices, increasing salaries and fighting corruption. Confidence in the government’s ability to manage major economic imbalances remains very low, with three-quarters of Romanians saying that they have little or no confidence that the budget deficit will be reduced in the next two years. Geopolitically, the war in Ukraine is perceived more as a long-term risk than as a crisis close to resolution. Most Romanians believe this conflict will continue in 2026, and one in five fears it will expand into Europe.

VENEZUELA – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) in Bucharest has announced it is closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela, with Romania’s partners in the European Union. A community with Romanian roots lives there, and the safety of citizens is a priority, which is why Romania’s diplomatic and consular missions in Latin America and the Ministry’s Consular Department are ready to provide assistance if necessary, with the support of the permanent delegation of the European Union. The MAE recalls that the Union has also established, with Romania’s agreement, successive series of sanctions against the undemocratic regime in Caracas, including after the rigged presidential elections in July last year. The European Union and Romania have not recognized Nicolás Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela, and the decision to bring him to justice can stop drug trafficking and give Venezuelans a chance for a good future in prosperity, said the head of diplomacy in Bucharest, Oana Ţoiu. The statements come after, on Saturday, the United States successfully carried out large-scale attacks on Venezuela, and the authoritarian leftist leader of this country, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, accused of involvement in drug trafficking, were captured and taken out of the country by air, to appear before an American Court.

PRESIDENCY– Romanian President Nicuşor Dan will participate, on Tuesday, in Paris, in the meeting of heads of state and government of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, dedicated to the situation in neighboring Ukraine, invaded by Russian troops – the Presidential Administration in Bucharest has announced. Ukraine’s European allies also met on Saturday, in Kyiv, to analyze the details of the latest version of the plan to end the conflict with Russia. Security advisors from 15 countries, including France, Germany and Canada, as well as representatives of the European Union and NATO, gathered in the Ukrainian capital for this first meeting of the year. Diplomatic efforts have intensified since November, with a view to ending the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II, under the coordination of US President Donald Trump, whose administration has held separate negotiations with Russia and Ukraine. In his New Year’s speech for 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky said that an agreement was “90% ready”, but warned that the remaining 10% would determine the “fate of peace”, as the future of the territories occupied by Russia remains a key issue.

VICTIM – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest has announced, regarding the fire that broke out in Switzerland, in the Crans-Montana resort, on New Year’s Eve, that, according to the information received from the Swiss authorities, the Romanian citizen initially presumed missing is dead. The Romanian Embassy in Bern is in contact with his family, and representatives of the diplomatic mission are providing them consular assistance. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sends its condolences to the grieving family. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminds Romanian citizens that they can request consular assistance at the phone numbers of the Romanian Embassy in Bern, namely, call-center phone: +41 31 351 05 46 and +41 31 351 05 47, calls being redirected to the Contact and Support Center for Romanian Citizens Abroad (CCSCRS) and taken over by the Call Center operators on a 24-hour basis. Also, Romanian citizens who are faced with a difficult, special, emergency situation have the diplomatic mission’s emergency phone number at their disposal: +41 76 387 50 05.

POLO – The Romanian national team has established its squad for the European Men’s Water Polo Championship, to be held this month in Belgrade, in neighboring Serbia. According to the Facebook page of the polo federation in Bucharest, the Romanians, led by coach Bogdan Rath, will leave for Serbia on January 8 and will compete in Group D, alongside Slovakia, Turkey and Italy. The first match will be played on January 11, against Slovakia, then on January 13, the match against Turkey will take place, with the last match in the group being scheduled for January 15, against Italy. (EE)