President Nicușor Dan to Approve PSD Resignations Amid Romanian Political Crisis

Romanian President Nicușor Dan announced on Friday that he would sign the resignation decrees of seven PSD ministers from Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's cabinet before returning to Romania, pending a final review of the documents. Speaking at a press conference in Nicosia, Cyprus, following an informal European Council summit, Dan confirmed that the resignation papers and proposals for interim appointments had arrived after his previous press engagement the night before. His team had spent the day preparing draft revocation and appointment decrees. „These proposals came after I spoke with you last night. During the day, my colleagues looked over them, prepared the drafts, the decrees for revocation and appointment respectively, and on the way to the plane I will look at what they worked on, I will do a brief check and, if everything is in order, I will sign them.” — Nicușor Dan via Digi24 The seven ministers who submitted their resignations on Thursday at the Victoria Palace were Deputy Prime Minister Marian Neacșu, Minister of Agriculture Florin-Ionuț Barbu, Minister of Energy Bogdan-Gruia Ivan, Minister of Labor Florin Manole, Minister of Justice Radu Marinescu, Minister of Health Alexandru Rogobete, and Minister of Transport Ciprian Șerban. Their departure leaves the Bolojan government without its PSD component, transforming it into a minority administration.

Dan rules out any minority deal backed by AUR Dan drew a firm line against one potential path out of the political impasse, stating he would refuse to designate a prime minister for a minority government relying on support from the AUR party. He described such a scenario as highly unlikely to reach his desk but made clear his position regardless. „AUR has many flaws. But it is still a party. I do not imagine that, in a voting situation in Parliament, the AUR parliamentarians will not respect the party line. In the hypothetical situation where PNL or PSD come to me and say that we want a minority government with the support of the AUR party, I will not agree to that.” — Nicușor Dan via Mediafax.ro Dan also characterized his own role in the crisis as that of a mediator rather than an active political player. He acknowledged that the government would, at some point, likely face a parliamentary confidence vote. The president expressed cautious optimism about the fiscal outlook, noting that the political crisis had emerged after the 2026 budget had already been passed, sparing Romania from a potentially destabilizing budget debate. „For 2026 we have a budget and no one has said they want to change this trajectory for 2026. And I am optimistic that, with collaboration, as much as possible, we will not be in the situation, at the end of 2026, to go in the direction of taxes.” — Nicușor Dan via Mediafax.ro

Constitutional Court challenge looms over minority cabinet A separate legal dimension to the crisis emerged, with Dan acknowledging public concern over whether the CCR should rule in advance on whether the Bolojan government must seek a new parliamentary confidence vote following the ministerial resignations. Dan stopped short of confirming whether PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu had told him directly that the party was considering filing a CCR notification, but said the question was already circulating in the public space. „From long experience with governments that have been contested, the CCR has ruled on many aspects, but not what happens if at the end of the 45 days of interim management at the ministries the government remains like this or if a swap between ministers is made. There is this concern in the public space and to ask the CCR to rule in advance so that a constitutional solution exists.” — Nicușor Dan via G4Media.ro According to party sources cited by Agerpres and reported by G4Media, PSD is weighing a notification alleging a constitutional conflict between Parliament and the government, on the grounds that the cabinet's political composition has changed without a new vote of confidence. Former CCR judge Tudorel Toader stated on Digi24 that PSD parliamentary leader Grindeanu, as president of the Chamber of Deputies, could file such a notification, arguing that a government requires a parliamentary confidence vote to retain full competencies, including the power to issue emergency ordinances.

Romania has experienced repeated governmental instability since the early 2000s, with multiple cabinets falling through no-confidence votes or losing coalition support mid-term. The Bolojan government, formed in June 2025, was built on a coalition that included PSD alongside the Liberal PNL. Romania's constitution does not explicitly address the scenario in which a coalition partner withdraws its ministers without a formal no-confidence motion, creating the legal ambiguity now at the center of the dispute. The CCR has previously been called upon to resolve conflicts of a constitutional nature between Parliament and the executive, but has not ruled on the specific question of what obligations arise when a government loses its parliamentary majority through ministerial resignations rather than a formal vote.

Ukraine territorial gains and kerosene risks discussed in Cyprus Beyond the domestic political crisis, Dan reported on the substance of the Cyprus summit, where European leaders discussed Ukraine, EU enlargement, and energy security. He relayed an assessment from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that, since the start of 2026, Ukraine had regained more territory than it had lost — a development Dan described as a first reversal of the territorial trend. The summit also addressed the unblocking of a 90-billion-euro loan for Ukraine and the launch of a 20th package of sanctions. On the question of EU accession, Dan said Ukraine's path into the bloc remained linked to that of Moldova, and warned that decoupling the two processes could serve as a discouraging factor for Ukrainian morale. Regarding energy, Dan said Romanian authorities had assessed the kerosene supply situation together with the government, the minister of transport, the minister of energy, and major market operators, concluding that there was no short-term risk to flights over the next three to four months. „There is no short-term risk, meaning on the order of 3-4 months from now on we are not affected by anything. The concern for all of us is for that medium term, depending on how the war and traffic through the Strait evolve.” — Nicușor Dan via Mediafax.ro Dan added that authorities had agreed to hold monthly monitoring meetings to track any new developments in the energy situation.