January 29, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 29.01.2026, 20:03
FINANCES The government of Romania estimates that it will need EUR 55 billion in 2026 to cover a budget deficit that could exceed 6% of GDP and to refinance the public debt due this year. As a result, the Cabinet is looking to take out loans on the domestic market, to issue Eurobonds in foreign markets and contract low-interest loans under European Union programmes such as the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and SAFE.
BANK The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development last year invested 955 million Euros in 37 projects in Romania, the biggest sum since the EBRD came to Romania in 1992. Over 80% of last year’s investment has been devoted to the green economy. According to an EBRD communiqué, among the most important projects there was the financing package of 192 million Euros signed in November for three photovoltaic plants. Another deal was signed in May – an EBRD loan of almost 180 million Euros for a regenerating project in Cluj-Napoca, north-western Romania. Until now, the bank has invested over 12.3 billion Euros in almost 600 projects in Romania.
ACCIDENT The bodies of the seven Greek football fans who died in the road accident in Lugoj, western Romania, were repatriated by a Greek military aircraft on Thursday. A religious service was held on the airport in Timisoara. Also on Thursday, two of those wounded were transported to Greece with an ambulance plane of the Health Ministry in Athens. The third survivor is still in a hospital in Timisoara. In the meantime, medical investigations have confirmed the bus driver had used cannabis, cocaine and alcohol. The Romanian Football Federation has announced that a moment of silence will be observed at the upcoming Superleague matches in the memory of the seven PAOK fans who lost their lives. The Greek football side PAOK has been coached by the former Romanian selector, Razvan Lucescu. The Greek ambassador in Bucharest has voiced gratitude for the way in which the Romanian authorities responded in this case and the medical personnel who treated the wounded with professionalism.
FLU 17 people died of flu in Romania last week, the National Public Health Institute announced on Thursday. 57 fatalities caused by the flu have been reported since the beginning of the season. According to the same sources, between January 19th and 25th 100 thousand respiratory infections were reported, out of which 9 thousand were cases of flu, on the rise as compared to the previous week, but significantly lower than the same period last year.
CANDIDACY Romania, which seeks to host the head offices of the EU’s new Customs Agency, presented its candidacy in a hearing in the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday. Romania’s finance minister Alexandru Nazare insisted on the country’s experience in cyber-security, and on the fact that Bucharest is a European capital that has the required infrastructure. At the same time, with the establishment of the European Cyber Security Centre, Romania has proven that it can handle sensitive data. The new Customs Agency will monitor billions of parcels entering the bloc after the EU amended its legislation on previously tax-free parcels under EUR 150. In total, nine cities in nine EU member states are competing to host the headquarters of the EU Customs Agency. In Brussels, Alexandru Nazare also met with the European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis to discuss Romania’s budget deficit and the forecast for this year. Romania promised to keep its deficit at around 6% of GDP in 2026. In April, the European Commission will make public its first economic forecasts for this year in a report detailing the situation of each individual state.
CULTURE As of Thursday, Romania will be promoted in several capital cities around the world, in a tour of screenings and cultural events organised by the British writer and producer Charlie Ottley, jointly with the ministry of economy, digitisation, entrepreneurship and tourism and with support from the foreign ministry. According to a news release issued by the economy ministry, the tour includes screenings of Ottley’s documentary “Flavours of Romania” in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Chile, Peru, Colombia and the United Kingdom, followed by presentations and Q&A sessions, aimed at presenting the beauty and diversity of Romania to an international audience. For his part, Charlie Ottley emphasised that there are still too many misconceptions about Romania, and the only way to move past them is to go out into the world and show people what an extraordinary country we have.
GRANTS The European Commission announced in a news release that it would earmark almost EUR 650 million in grants under the Connecting Europe Facility to help finance 14 cross-border energy infrastructure projects. One of the 14 projects to receive funding is CARMEN (Carpathian Modernised Energy Network), which aims to improve electricity market integration, support the large-scale integration of renewable sources and ensure energy security and flexibility in Romania and Bulgaria. A EUR 103 million grant will be awarded to this project. According to the European Commission, transmission and distribution networks will be modernised and digitised, to improve efficiency and enable secure flows of electricity from renewable sources.
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