March 6, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 06.03.2026, 19:55
Repatriation. In a telephone conversation with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Friday, Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan requested support for the safe repatriation of Romanian citizens. According to a press release from the Government in Bucharest, Bolojan expressed his solidarity with the Emirati people in the context of the current security developments in the Middle East. At the same time, the Prime Minister thanked the Sheikh and the local authorities for the support provided to Romanian citizens who live, work or holiday in the Emirates. In this context, the Romanian foreign ministry said Romanian students who were stranded in Dubai due to the conflict in Iran arrived in the country on an evacuation flight organised by Romania through the European Union’s civil protection mechanism. The aircraft, with 127 Romanian citizens on board, including 95 minors, took off from Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman, to Bucharest. 39 European citizens were also on board, under the European civil protection mechanism. Two other flights from Dubai, operated by FlyDubai, arrived in Bucharest on Friday. Since the beginning of the conflict in Iran, 1,000 Romanian citizens have arrived in Romania on scheduled flights or evacuation flights, and another 15,000 have requested assistance from Romania’s diplomatic missions, the foreign ministry said.
Iran. The United States said it will intensify its aerial offensive against Iran and that missile and drone fire has significantly decreased following the bombing of Iranian military installations. The US “has only just begun to fight”, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said after President Donald Trump warned that the “big wave” of airstrikes is yet to come. Both Hegseth and Trump provided assurances that ammunition reserves are sufficient, despite warnings that the rapid use of America’s most advanced bombs and missiles risks depleting stocks. Meanwhile, Israel said 80% of Iran’s anti-aircraft systems and 60% of its launchers were destroyed and that it is moving to the second phase of the offensive, focusing on well-protected bunker targets. For its parts, Iran has threatened to attack its adversaries anywhere in the world. Recent Iranian strikes targeted the Al-Udeid base in Qatar, the largest US base in the Middle East.
Economy. The government discussed on Friday the stage of implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Reform and investment projects in areas such as energy, transport, agriculture, development, healthcare and the environment were analysed in detail and solutions were identified so that they could be implemented within the deadlines agreed with the representatives of the European Commission. Each ministry coordinating the reform is to send the Ministry of Investments a timeline for their implementation, so that the government can have an updated situation at any time, given that the deadline for complying with the commitments is the end of August. It was decided that in the case of reform projects involving the adoption of legislation by Parliament, the relevant ministries are to submit them to government by May, so that they can then be sent to Parliament for debate and approval in an emergency procedure. In the case of reforms that require adoption through other types of legislation, the ministries will collaborate closely so that they are also approved within the agreed deadlines. Romania has so far absorbed about 10.7 billion euros, which accounts for just over a half of the total value of financing under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Education. Romanian teachers will boycott the mock exams for the national assessment and the baccalaureate, said the leader of the Spiru Haret Federation of Trade Unions in Education, Marius Nistor. The announcement comes amid dissatisfaction with the austerity measures adopted by the government and the lack of a real dialogue with the authorities, Nistor explained. He said that teachers voted overwhelmingly to boycott these exams in a referendum. If the mock exams are not held at the established date, the actual exams will be rescheduled. The education ministry said in response that it understands the teachers’ dissatisfaction and expresses its confidence that all those involved will act in the best interest of pupils. The mock exams for the national assessment are scheduled between March 16 and 18, and those for the baccalaureate between March 23 and 26.
Price cap. The Romanian government decided on Thursday to maintain a cap on natural gas prices for household users until April next year. According to Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, the best time to liberalise prices on this market will be when supply is sufficient. He noted that next year, Romania will become the largest producer of natural gas in the European Union as extraction is set to begin in the Neptun Deep perimeter in the Black Sea. The Prime Minister also said that given the current developments in the Gulf, Romanians must be protected from fluctuations on the external market.
Electricity. Romania is to receive 150 million euros from the European Commission to support electricity storage, in line with the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal. According to Brussels, this is the first request submitted by Bucharest under the European framework on state aid in the context of the Clean Industrial Deal. The Commission said the aid scheme will be financed from the Modernisation Fund, and the measure will contribute to the large-scale integration of energy from renewable sources into Romania’s energy mix. (CM)
