February 2, 2026
A roundup of local and international news.
Cristina Mateescu, 02.02.2026, 13:55
Parliament. The Senate and Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest begin their first parliamentary session this year. The priorities of the ruling coalition are the public administration reform, economic recovery measures and passing the 2026 state budget bill. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan prefers the bills relating to the administration and economy to be adopted by emergency order, a faster solution than putting them to a vote of confidence in Parliament. The Social Democratic Party, the initiator of the economic recovery measures, also decided in a meeting on Sunday that immediate adoption is absolutely mandatory and non-negotiable. On the other hand, the opposition has already announced a motion of censure against the Government if the Prime Minister will assume responsibility for the third package of reforms, as well as a number of simple motions against the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence and several legislative initiatives related to reducing state spending and protecting citizens.
Constitutional Court. Two liberal MPs from the ruling coalition have submitted a bill to amend and supplement the Law on the Organisation and Functioning of the Constitutional Court. MP Raluca Turcan said none of the proposed measures affects the independence of the Constitutional Court judges in exercising their mandate, nor their irremovability during their term. According to Turcan, in recent years, the Constitutional Court has lost credibility due to suspicions of conflict of interest, unjustified postponements and repeated absences and boycotts of important decisions. The main measures included in the bill are: the obligation of Constitutional Court judges to attend the Court’s plenary sessions; financial penalties for judges who are absent without justification from the Plenary sessions of the Court amounting to 10% of their gross income for each absence, only situations of a medical nature, fortuitous events or force majeure being admitted as justifications; the possibility that Parliament or the President of Romania can dismiss judges who are found to be in situations of incompatibility, who are absent from the Court’s Plenary sessions without justification at least three times in a row or if they are unable to exercise the function of judge for more than 90 days.
Strike. Trade unions in education are collecting signatures to launch a general strike during the mock exams for the national assessment and the baccalaureate, which are scheduled for March. Teachers are particularly dissatisfied with the increase in teaching hours, from 18 to 20, and the reduction in the amounts for payment by the hour. Union leaders are asking the Government to increase the budget allocation for education. Trade unions in the healthcare sector are also considering a strike.
Oil. The price of an oil barrel fell today on Asian stock markets after US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he would prefer to reach an agreement with Iran, France-Presse reported. The agency notes that the United States has recently significantly boosted its forces in the Middle East region, after Donald Trump warned on several occasions that he could order an operation against Iran because of the brutal response of the Iranian regime to anti-government protests. On the other hand, Trump also spoke of negotiations with Tehran on the latter’s nuclear programme, which was already the target of a US attack last June. Thousands of people were killed during the repression of protests last month, France-Presse recalls. Tehran accused the United States and Israel of inciting the protests, and the country’s supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday warned that a US attack would lead to regional war.
Tennis. The British player of Romanian origin Emma Răducanu is the top favourite of the Transylvania Open tennis tournament (WTA 250), held in Cluj-Napoca (north-west) and worth 283,347 dollars in prize money. In the first round, Raducanu will face Belgium’s Greet Minnen. Jaqueline Cristian is the second seed of the competition and faces Camila Osorio of Colombia in her opening round. Sorana Cîrstea, in her last season on the circuit, is the third seed and will play in the first round against Kamila Rakhimova of Uzebikstan. Elena-Gabriela Ruse will be playing Spain’s Rebeka Masarova, Ana Bogdan will face a qualifier, and Miriam Bulgaru is facing the 7th seed Olga Danilovic of Serbia. Elena Ruxandra Bertea, in her first appearance in a WTA main draw, will meet Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan. (CM)
