According to the National Bank of Romania (BNR) data, in January – February 2024p, the balance-of-payments current account posted a deficit of EUR 2,707 million, compared with EUR 2,171 million in January – February 2023. The breakdown shows that the deficit on trade in goods declined by EUR 39 million, the surplus on services fell by EUR 456 million, the primary income deficit increased by EUR 516 million, while the secondary income registered a surplus of EUR 345 million, compared to a deficit of EUR 52 million in the same year-ago period. Non-residents’ direct investmente in Romania totalled EUR 1,229 million (compared with EUR 1,345 million in January – February 2023), of which equity (including the estimated net reinvestment of earnings) and intercompany lending recorded net values of EUR 1,105 million and EUR 124 million, respectively. In January – February 2024, total external debt increased by EUR 6,766 million to EUR 176,849 million, of which: long-term external debt at end-February 2024 ran at EUR 128,439 million (72.6 percent of total external debt), up 5.5 percent against end-2023; short-term external debt at end-February 2024 amounted to EUR 48,410 million (27.4 percent of total external debt), up 0.2 percent from end-2023. Long-term external debt service ratio stood at 10.9 percent in February 2024 against 16.7 percent in 2023. At end-February 2024, goods and services import cover ran at 6.1 months, as compared to 5.6 months at end-2023. At end-February 2024, the ratio of the National Bank of Romania’s foreign exchange reserves to short-term external debt by remaining maturity came in at 101.2 percent, as against 96.3 percent at end-2023.
Romanian-born actor Sebastian Stan has been nominated in the category of "Best Actor in a Leading Role" for his performance in the film The Apprentice at the 2025 BAFTA Awards. Stan portrays Donald Trump in The Apprentice, focusing on the early years Trump spent in New York. The film depicts a young Trump as an emotional […]
Romanian authorities in coordination with the European Commission participated on Wednesday, January 15, in the urgent medical evacuation operation of 12 Palestinian patients from the Gaza Strip, along with 35 family members. Those evacuated are severely affected by the lack of access to adequate medical treatment. The operation was carried out with the involvement of […]
Romania’s state railway operator CFR Călători will receive 12 new electric trains, which will connect Bucharest with the largest cities in the country’s eastern counties. The trains, part of a contract with the Railway Reform Authority, or ARF, will connect Bucharest North station to Suceava, Iași, Galați, as well as Iași to Cluj-Napoca. According to […]
In a decision adopted in its Thursday meeting, the Romanian government approved May 4, 2025, as the new date for the first round of the presidential elections. The second round should thus be held on May 18, as agreed by the ruling coalition leaders last week. "Two government decisions and an emergency ordinance have been […]
Most of the excavation for the first tunnel built on a highway in Romania has been completed, and traffic could potentially be opened by the end of this year between Tigveni and Bucharest, a section of the Sibiu-Pitești highway. Romanian state officials noted construction work at Section 4 (Tigveni - Curtea de Argeș) of the […]
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or EBRD, invested EUR 707 million in 44 projects in Romania in 2024 to support the country’s green transition, a sharp increase compared to the previous year, when it invested EUR 658 million spread over 23 projects. EBRD cooperates with private corporations, equity funds, banks, as well as local […]
