January 12, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 12.01.2026, 20:21
GAS Romania has enough natural gas in spite of a roughly 17% increase in consumption due to the latest cold wave as compared to the period’s annual average, Romania’s Energy Minister, Bogdan Ivan says. The country’s storage facilities are 65% full, 11% more than the EU average and the energy output is enough to cover the population’s need this winter without any problems, Minister Ivan told the National Energy Command, which convened on Monday. Ivan recalled that on November 1, storage facilities were full. The minister also referred to some drawbacks in the process of supplying heat to some regions in Craiova, south-western Romania. Parts of Bucharest are also facing issues due to a faulty gas transport network. On Monday morning Romania reported an electricity output of roughly 75 hundred megawatts and a consumption of 86 hundred. According to Electricity carrier Transelectrica, the deficit was covered from imports, which accounts for 10 percent of the needed electricity.
REFORM The Romanian government is expected to endorse the public administration reform next week, after a government session on Monday. The announcement was made by Defence Minister, Radu Miruta, after Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan had met the deputy prime ministers in Bucharest on Monday. Miruta says that after the reform has been endorsed by the government, which translates into a 10% expenses cut, the Finance Minister will be publishing the budget limitations every ministry has to comply with. He says the Prime Minister will engage responsibility in Parliament on the project.
TAXES The increase in taxes on buildings, land and vehicles in Romania will account for an estimated rise in revenues by approximately 740 million Euros in 2026, and the money collected will stay in local budgets, as the state budget can no longer ensure the increasing fund transfers as a result of the budget deficit, the government said in a statement. According to the source, in the case of individual owners the old taxes did not take into account the market value of buildings, were not updated for inflation, and the collection rate was low, which generated significant revenue losses for local authorities. At the same time, the central and local administration reform, which would reduce public spending, remains on the agenda of the ruling coalition. The government intends to take responsibility in Parliament for the administration reform this month.
ECONOMY Romania has met an important benchmark in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan in the semiconductor sector, with over 375 million Euros in innovation projects, the minister of economy, digitisation, entrepreneurship and tourism Irineu Darău announced on Monday. He added that Romania is preparing for new projects under Important Project of Common European Interest, IPCEI, a mechanism through which several states in the EU jointly finance large strategic projects, in key areas for the future. According to the government, with this initiative Romania aims to extend its participation in strategic industrial projects, strengthen the national innovation ecosystem and attract further EU funding for the development of the national economy.
TRADE The trade agreement between the European Union and the South American trade bloc Mercosur is to be signed on Saturday, January 17, after the EU members approved the document by qualified majority vote on Friday. Romania voted in favor of the deal. Negotiated for almost 25 years, the agreement covers trade relations between the EU and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Mercosur will scrap customs duties on 91% of European exports, including cars, from the current level of 35%, over a period of 15 years. In turn, the EU will gradually give up duties on 92% of Mercosur exports, over a period of up to 10 years. European farmers oppose the deal, claiming it opens the EU market to cheap imports of South American farm products that do not comply with European environmental and food safety standards. In 2024, the EU – Mercosur trade amounted to over EUR 111 billion.
IRAN Telecommunications are still restricted in Iran, but anti-regime protests carry on. Images have surfaced showing crackdowns against protesters and a large number of bodies. According to US media, president Donald Trump is expected to meet with senior advisors to discuss options regarding Iran, which include military strikes, the use of cyber weapons and the provision of online aid to protesters. The Romanian foreign ministry announced that an 8/9 travel warning is in force for Iran (Avoid all travel for the entire territory). In the event that Romanian nationals are already in Iran, Bucharest urges them to avoid crowded places and to refrain from participating in demonstrations, and to carefully consider whether they need to stay in this country.
ESPIONAGE The European Parliament was on Monday hearing Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi amid an espionage scandal involving Hungary. According to Radio Romania correspondent in Brussels, in October, last year, journalists from Hungary, Germany and Belgium published a common investigation, according to which between 2012 and 2018, the Hungarian intelligence services would have allegedly tried to recruit officials working for various European institutions in Brussels. The actions would have been initiated by spies who benefitted from diplomatic cover at the Hungarian Representation in Belgium’s capital, headed at that time by the incumbent commissioner Oliver Varhelyi. Both Budapest and the Hungarian Commissioner had denied any allegations and a first European Commission investigation failed to bring new evidence to the case.
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