On September 11, 2026, in the Romanian city of Turda, located in Transylvania near Cluj-Napoca, the ancient Roman castrum of Potaissa—one of the most significant military fortresses of Roman Dacia—was officially opened to the general public. Prior to this, following the completion of restoration work, the site had been accessible primarily to organized groups.
The castrum was built around 168–170 CE for the 5th Macedonian Legion, which was deployed to Dacia during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The military base covered an area of about 23.4 hectares, measured approximately 573 by 408 meters, and was designed to house several thousand Roman soldiers.
In 2024, Potaissa was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the serial site “Frontiers of the Roman Empire—Dacia.” The entire Romanian complex comprises 277 individual sites of the ancient Roman defensive system, stretching over 1,000 km.
The project to restore and adapt the castrum for tourism has been in the works since 2016; the agreement for European funding was signed in 2018, and the main work was completed in 2024. According to the Turda City Hall, the final cost of the restoration work amounted to 22.97 million lei excluding VAT, while the total investment, including other expenses, was estimated at approximately 30 million lei, or about 6 million euros. Most of the funding came from European funds.
For visitors, the remains of the Principia Legion command building, Roman roads, bastions, gates, and thermal baths have been restored and preserved. The tour of the ancient baths is organized in a particularly unusual way: a protective structure has been built over the archaeological remains, featuring a system of suspended walkways with a total length of about 230 meters, allowing visitors to view the ruins from above without damaging them.
At the same time, a significant portion of Potaissa still remains underground. Archaeologist Sorin Nemeti told Romania’s ProTV that of the nearly 24 hectares, about 1 hectare has actually been excavated to date. Archaeologists already have an idea of the complex’s underground layout, but a complete study of such a site could take many more decades. Thousands of artifacts related to the daily life of Roman soldiers have been discovered during the excavations.
For Ukrainian tourists, Potaissa is relatively close. From the Romanian side of the Porubne–Siret border crossing to Turda, it is about 338 km by road. The distance from Lviv is approximately 480 km, and from Kyiv—about 830 km by road. Travel time depends significantly on border crossing wait times.
The most practical route from Ukraine is by car via Chernivtsi and the Porubne–Siret border crossing, then through Suceava toward Transylvania and Turda. Without a car, you can take a bus via Suceava and Cluj-Napoca. The nearest major international airport is in Cluj-Napoca, about 39 km from Turda; buses run from the airport to the city, and the trip takes about 20–40 minutes. Since Ukrainian airspace is currently closed to civilian aviation, this option is primarily relevant for travelers arriving in Romania from other European countries.
In August 2026, Ukraine significantly reduced purchases of motor gasoline from the southern direction: imports from Romania decreased by approximately one third, while those from Greece fell by 40%, according to calculations by the Experts Club analytical center and data from the A-95 Consulting Group.
Supplies of Romanian gasoline amounted to 23.4 thousand tonnes compared with 34 thousand tonnes in July.
Imports from Greece decreased to 15 thousand tonnes from 24.9 thousand tonnes a month earlier.
Thus, total supplies from the two countries decreased over the month from approximately 58.9 thousand to 38.4 thousand tonnes.
“The main reason for the significant drop in imports from the south was the price factor. In August, when the market was no longer threatened by a shortage, companies reduced purchases of more expensive fuel from Romania and Greece,” the A-95 Consulting Group reported.
A similar trend was also observed in the diesel fuel market.
At the same time, the bulk of Ukrainian gasoline imports continued to arrive from the northwestern direction. In August, Lithuania supplied 51.8 thousand tonnes of gasoline, while Poland supplied 40.1 thousand tonnes.
These two countries accounted for about 60% of total imports.
Overall, gasoline supplies from abroad in August amounted to 152 thousand tonnes, which is 7% less than a year earlier. Since the beginning of 2026, Ukraine has imported 1.12 million tonnes of gasoline — 16% more than in January-August 2025.
The decline in purchases from the southern direction shows that after supply stabilized, Ukrainian traders began more actively redistributing flows in favor of cheaper European sources.
The Romanian commercial real estate market attracted approximately 300 million euros in investment in the first half of 2026, compared to about 400 million euros during the same period last year, according to the Colliers CEE Investment Scene H1 2026 report.
Romania accounted for 5.4% of total CEE-6 investment volume, despite the fact that the country accounts for about 18% of the aggregate GDP of the six economies under review. According to Colliers, this indicates significant potential for further growth in the Romanian investment market.
Offices accounted for about 60% of Romania’s investment volume in the first half of the year, marking the highest share for this segment since 2022.
However, the market structure may shift in the second half of the year due to large transactions in retail and other real estate sectors.
Romania continues to offer higher yields than many more mature markets in Central Europe. In Bucharest, the prime yield stands at about 7.5% for offices, 7.75% for industrial and logistics properties, and 7.25% for shopping centers.
By comparison, yields on high-quality properties in Warsaw, Prague, and other more liquid capitals in the region are at lower levels.
Colliers notes that the decline in transaction volume in the first half of the year does not necessarily indicate a deterioration in the market’s fundamentals. A number of large transactions were in the final stages of completion after the end of June.
In particular, the sale of the MAS retail real estate portfolio to AFI Europe was completed in the third quarter. If the deals currently in progress are finalized, Romania’s total investment volume for 2026 could approach 1 billion euros.
This would be only the second year since 2007 that the Romanian market has reached this level, notes Robert Miklo, Head of Capital Markets at Colliers Romania.
Colliers operates in more than 70 countries, employs approximately 28,000 professionals, and has roughly $110 billion in assets under management.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, and Romanian President Nicușor Dan will hold a trilateral meeting in Chisinau on Thursday, August 27, as part of the events marking the 35th anniversary of Moldova’s independence.
According to the schedule released by the Romanian Presidential Administration, the trilateral meeting between Zelenskyy, Sandu, and Dan is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. at the Presidential Palace in Chisinau. Following the talks, the three heads of state will make joint statements to the press.
The official program from the Moldovan side states that Sandu will meet with the Romanian president at 2:35 p.m. After bilateral talks, Sandu and Dan will take part in a military parade on the Great National Assembly Square, dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the country’s independence. The presidents are scheduled to begin their participation in the parade at 4:45 p.m.
The Moldovan president will meet with Zelenskyy at 6:00 p.m., followed by a trilateral meeting of delegations from Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania.
In the evening, Zelenskyy, Sandu, and Dan will also take part in festive events on the Great National Assembly Square. After 9:00 p.m., the three presidents are scheduled to address the public.
On August 27, Moldova celebrates the 35th anniversary of the declaration of independence. The country’s parliament adopted the Declaration of Independence on August 27, 1991. This year’s events are taking place under the slogan “Independence Unites Us.”
Official source: Office of the President of the Republic of Moldova, statement dated August 26, 2026.
Romania may set a goal of joining the eurozone in 2032, provided that public finances stabilize and the country meets the criteria for the monetary union, said Dragos Pislaru, the country’s acting minister of investment and European projects.
The statement was made in an interview with the Romanian television channel TVR Info. However, 2032 is not yet an officially approved date for Romania’s transition to the euro, but is viewed by Pislaru as a possible target.
According to the minister, the country’s top priority should be fiscal and budgetary consolidation and bringing public finances to a stable state by 2030.
“The goal is to put our finances in order by 2030. Therefore, I see an opportunity to align several objectives: fiscal and budgetary consolidation and the adoption of a coordinated national development plan for 2028–2034,” Pislaru stated.
He also emphasized the need for political stability, which would allow the government to consistently implement such a plan. Once Romania has achieved the necessary macroeconomic indicators, it will need to go through the phase of participating in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II).
“Romania could, say, join in 2030 plus two years, because two years must be spent in the waiting room. This is a monitoring period. The year 2032 could be an important target for joining the eurozone,” the minister noted.
Currently, Romania does not yet meet the key criteria for adopting the euro. According to the European Central Bank’s convergence report published in June 2026, the country is not participating in ERM II. To meet the exchange rate criterion, a country must remain in this mechanism for at least two years without significant fluctuations or devaluation of its currency against the euro.
Inflation also remains a significant problem. The 12-month average harmonized inflation rate in Romania as of May 2026 stood at 8.4%, while the reference level for joining the eurozone was 2.7%. The average long-term interest rate was 6.7%, compared to the maximum permissible level of 5.1% for this criterion.
In addition, Romania is continuing the process of reducing its excessive budget deficit. The EU has set a trajectory for Bucharest that should allow it to eliminate the excessive deficit by 2030. The European Commission projected that the deficit would be reduced to 6.2% of GDP in 2026 and 5.8% in 2027. Public debt, on the other hand, is projected to rise to 63.4% of GDP in 2027.
Thus, the scenario for adopting the euro in 2032 envisages a significant reduction in the budget deficit and inflation, stabilization of public debt, entry into ERM II, and at least a two-year stay in this mechanism before final accession to the eurozone.
On August 13, the Romanian state-owned company Nuclearelectrica began a controlled shutdown of the second power unit at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant due to a prolonged drop in the water level of the Danube, leaving the country’s only nuclear power plant temporarily without any operating reactors.
Nuclearelectrica’s official announcement was sent to the Bucharest Stock Exchange on August 13. The company notes that the decision was made due to a “significant and prolonged drop in water levels in the Danube,” based on forecasts from Romania’s National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management (INHGA).
The procedure for the controlled reduction of Unit 2’s output began this morning. Nuclearelectrica Director Romeo Urian previously reported that output is expected to drop to zero around noon, after which the unit will be disconnected from the national power grid.
Chernavoda’s Unit 1 was shut down for the same reason on July 28. At that time, Nuclearelectrica also attributed this decision to the unprecedentedly low water level in the Danube caused by a severe drought.
Each of the two operating CANDU-type reactors has a capacity of about 706 MW. Together, under normal operating conditions, they account for approximately 20% of Romania’s electricity production.
The water situation remains extremely challenging. According to INHGA data as of the morning of August 13, the Danube’s flow rate at its entry into Romania near Băziaș was only 1,350,000 cubic meters per second.
The long-term average for August is about 3,900 cubic meters per second. Thus, the current flow rate corresponds to only about 35% of the typical August level.
Most importantly, the official hydrological forecast does not yet predict a significant recovery.
This means that even if the Danube’s level stabilizes at current levels, there is still insufficient basis for a rapid return of the nuclear units to operation.
Prior to the shutdown of Unit 2, Romanian authorities took extraordinary engineering measures to divert more water toward Cernavodă.
In one section, controlled blasting was carried out on a rocky obstacle, the riverbed was deepened, and four barges loaded with rocks were deliberately sunk to partially redirect water from the Bala branch into the main channel of the Danube.
These measures yielded temporary results. After the barges were sunk, the water level in the Cernavodă area was approximately 8 cm higher than the projected trajectory, which allowed the second reactor to remain operational for several more days.
However, in the long term, it was not possible to compensate for the lack of water through engineering measures.
For the recovery of Cernavoda, what matters is not so much local precipitation directly near the plant as it is rainfall across a large area of the upper and middle Danube basin—primarily in Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and further downstream.
The current 10-day forecast shows the first noticeable change in weather in the upper part of the basin on August 18. Thunderstorms are forecast for Vienna on August 17, and rain on August 21. Heavy rain is expected in Bratislava on August 17, followed by localized thunderstorms on August 18.
However, further downstream, the situation is less favorable. No significant precipitation is currently forecast for Budapest through August 22. Belgrade is also expected to experience mostly dry and hot weather.
In Černavoda itself, the forecast through August 22 is almost entirely dry, and after August 17, temperatures may rise above 30 degrees again.
Based on a combination of hydrological and meteorological forecasts, no significant improvement is expected by August 20.
Optimistic scenario: Heavy rainfall will occur in Austria and Slovakia on August 17–18, a new weather front will arrive around August 21, after which the Danube’s water level will begin to rise noticeably. In that case, the technical conditions for preparing the restart may be met around August 23–26.
The baseline scenario is that precipitation will be moderate and will only halt the further decline in water levels. In that case, a restart is more likely in the last week of August, around August 26–31.
The negative scenario is that rains will be localized, and the heat will persist in the middle and lower reaches. In that case, both units may remain offline into early September.
To compensate for the lost generation, the authorities will utilize several sources.
The Ministry of Energy is counting on an increase in wind power generation: in the coming days, average capacity is estimated at approximately 525 MW, and during certain periods it may reach 1.56 GW.
In addition, the 330-MW Rovinari 4 coal-fired power unit has been placed on standby, and Hidroelectrica is expected to provide at least about 300 MW of available additional capacity within the limits of existing hydropower resources. Romania has also begun purchasing electricity from Ukraine.
The total cross-border transmission capacity of the Romanian power grid for imports is approximately 4 GW. The authorities are considering, in particular, electricity supplies from southern Europe via Bulgaria.
At the same time, the shutdown of “Cernavodă” increases price risks.
