January 16, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 16.01.2026, 19:55
Release. A Romanian citizen who was detained in Venezuela for more than a year has been released and will return home, said the Romanian foreign ministry. He is in the care of the representatives of the European Union Delegation in Caracas and will shortly make the trip back to Romania. The Romanian foreign ministry has thanked the EU Delegation in Caracas, with which the Romanian authorities have worked closely since the case was first reported in 2024, both for its consular assistance and for promoting the man’s release. The ministry also hailed the support offered by partner states, in particular Czechia, for his return home.
Magistrates. Romania’s Constitutional Court on Friday postponed until February 11 deliberations on the government’s new bill on the reform of magistrates’ pension system in order to give judges time, reads a statement issued by Romania’s Constitutional Court, “to better study the issues at stake in the case, as well as the documents submitted by the High Court.” This concerns an accounting report which, according to the Supreme Court, would prove that the government’s bill would in fact cancel magistrates’ public service pensions, which would be lower than those based on contributions. The High Court of Cassation and Justice says that under these circumstances, it would no longer be a reform of special pensions, but a confiscation of magistrates’ rights. There have been several postponements in this case, the last two due to lack of quorum. Also on Friday, the Bucharest Court of Appeal postponed for 30th January a ruling on a request to dismiss two of its judges. The decision is viewed as important both for the composition of the Constitutional Court and its expected ruling on the bill on magistrates’ pensions.
Iran. Given the security situation in Iran and the high risk of escalation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest has raised the travel warning for this country to the highest level 9/9. The ministry urges Romanian citizens who are already in Iran to leave the country immediately, using any safe route available and strongly advises its citizens who have planned trips to Iran in the near future to cancel them. The ministry also strongly recommends that Romanian citizens in Iran report their presence to the Romanian Embassy in Tehran, at the mission’s emergency telephone number: +98 21 77647570. Currently, the telephone number only works via GSM calls, as it is impossible to place a call through messaging apps due to the lack of internet access. If Romanian citizens have trouble getting in touch with the diplomatic mission, they can call +98 21 77539041 instead, and their calls will be redirected to the Contact and Support Center for Romanian Citizens Abroad and answered by call center operators 24/7.
Deficit. Romania significantly reduced its budget deficit last year and saw slight economic growth, President Nicuşor Dan said on Thursday. Painful measures were taken, but they yielded the expected results, said the president, speaking at the annual meeting with the heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Bucharest, to whom he conveyed that Bucharest’s main goal for this year and for 2027 is economic recovery. In terms of its foreign policy, Romania will maintain its focus on the European Union, NATO, and the Strategic Partnership with the United States.
SAFE. “The European Commission’s decision to approve Romania’s application for funding through the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) instrument, which will provide us with over 16 billion euros, is very good news. This money is for essential security acquisitions, projects, and investments that Romania was already considering and would have financed on its own at much higher costs,” President Nicusor Dan wrote on social media. The head of state mentioned that Bucharest is receiving the second largest amount allocated to an EU member state, representing a strategic opportunity to accelerate the investments needed to revitalize its defense industry. The Bucharest government also welcomed the European Commission’s approval of Romania’s application for funding through the SAFE Program. The Commission will finalize the loan agreements, with the first payments to be made in March 2026.
Birth rate. Fewer and fewer children are being born In Romania, and the natural birth rate is negative. The number of birth certificates decreased by some 18% in November 2025 compared the previous month, according to the National Institute of Statistics. The number of death certificates registered last November was approximately 18,600, about 2,000 fewer than in October, which represents a decrease of 9.8%,. In the same period last year, 42.3% of the total number of deaths was registered in people aged 80 and over, 28.1% in people aged 70-79 and 15.8% in people aged 60-69. The National Institute of Statistics also said that over 4,600 marriages and almost 1,900 divorce cases were registered in November 2025. (CM)
