The budget deficit rose to 4.57% of GDP after the first eight months of this year, from 4.02% of GDP at seven months, according to the data sent by the Ministry of Public Finance on Friday."Execution of the general consolidated budget in the first eight months of 2024 ended with a deficit of 80.87 billion RON, respectively 4.57% of GDP, compared to the deficit of 42.19 billion RON, respectively 2.63% of GDP related to the eight months of 2023," according to the quoted source.Total revenues amounted to 375.76 billion RON in the first eight months of 2024, registering an advance of 13.7% (y/y), supported by receipts from current revenues - mainly insurance contributions, VAT, payroll tax and income, profit tax and non-tax revenues.The sums reimbursed by the European Union on account of payments made and donations totaled 22.94 billion RON, down 18.3% (year/year).On the other hand, expenses of the general consolidated budget in the amount of 456.63 billion RON increased in nominal terms by 22.5% compared to the same period of the previous year. Expressed as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product, expenditures for the first eight months of 2024 registered an increase of 2.6 percentage points compared to the same period of 2023, from 23.2% of GDP to 25.8% of GDP.Expenditures on projects financed from non-reimbursable external funds (including subsidies from the European Union related to agriculture) were 30.9 billion RON.In the budget rectification recently adopted by the Government, the deficit for the current year was revised upwards from 5% of GDP to 6.94% of GDP. The Fiscal Council estimates, however, that the cash deficit will approach 8% of GDP in 2024.
Participation in cultural education activities continues to be limited, with the main barriers being difficult access, insufficient knowledge, and cost, the recently released Cultural Consumption Barometer 2024 shows. The report showed that many Romanians still associate culture with entertainment rather than with personal development or furthering their knowledge. The need for relaxation dominates in cultural […]
Roughly 84% of Romanians say that the pace of the state’s digitalization is slow or very slow, according to an Edge Institute & AtlasIntel study presented at the Digital Governance Summit 2025, which took place on Tuesday, November 25, at the presidential palace in Bucharest. The survey aims to capture the way citizens relate to […]
Romania’s Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) issued a negative opinion on the new bill regarding magistrates’ pensions. The move is only the latest development concerning a heated issue that led to tensions between the executive and the judiciary branch. CSM’s opinion is consultative, and the government led by Ilie Bolojan can still take responsibility for […]
Romania took the presidency of the Central European Initiative (or CEI) on Wednesday, November 26, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE). The organization is a regional intergovernmental forum established in 1989, following the fall of the Berlin Wall. It gathers 17 Member States in Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe […]
Trade between Romania and Poland continues to grow, with annual bilateral exchanges in goods now valued at more than EUR 12 billion, according to figures presented by the Polish-Romanian Bilateral Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PRBCC). The data was released during a reception in Bucharest marking Poland’s Independence Day and Romania’s National Day. Polish investments […]
As Romania moves closer to implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive, local employers are preparing for one of the most consequential shifts in workplace regulation in over a decade. The directive, set for transposition by June 2026, introduces strict new rules on salary disclosure, pay reporting, and equal-pay verification, aiming to close persistent gender gaps […]
