The Government "has reached an agreement" with the European Commission on the fiscal plan to reduce the deficit, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Wednesday, stressing that it is essential that the EC experts agreed that Romania needs the required period of 7 years to carry out major investment projects in the economy."We have reached an agreement with the European Commission on the fiscal plan. It is essential that the Commission experts agreed that Romania needs a period of 7 years to make massive investments in the economy. This is the only way we will reach the EU average in terms of development, citizens' incomes and living standard in general. There is also an agreement on the idea that if the deficit is lower than investments, then we are on a healthy trajectory," Ciolacu said at the beginning of the Government meeting.He added that, obviously, in parallel, the state "must make an effort to reduce spending, so that the economic balance be consolidated in the coming years.""Therefore, investments will grow in the coming years and we will continue to invest massively in the economy and in infrastructure," the prime minister said.But a Commission spokesperson for economic affairs told Reuters that it has agreed with Romania to extend its deadline to file the medium-term plan to Jan. 31."Since we have not received Romania's plan yet, we cannot comment on its content," the spokesperson said."Ahead of the submission of the plan, the Commission is engaging in technical dialogues with member states, including with Romania, with the objective of ensuring that the plans comply with all the requirements set out in the legislation."Romania has yet to unveil a 2025 budget plan, but analysts and ratings agencies expect some measure of tax hikes to be enforced to shore up public finances.The coalition government has raised the minimum wage and has raised state pensions twice this year.Romania has the EU's fastest rise in wage costs and its widening budget deficit is limiting the central bank's room to cut interest rates.
On Friday, January 3, aerospace and defense company Raytheon Technologies was awarded a USD 946 million contract by the US Pentagon to deliver an additional Patriot missile systems to Romania, aimed at bolstering the country's air defense capabilities by 2029. The contract, which includes advanced radars, control stations, and interceptor missiles, marks Romania's third order […]
Romanian mountain rescuers announced on Friday, January 3, that they registered a record number of interventions and 161 calls for emergency assistance in the past 24 hours. A total of 162 people were rescued, over 100 of whom required transport to a hospital. "An unwanted absolute record of mountain rescue and first aid interventions in […]
Far-right politician and former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu announced in a message on X that he will appeal the annulment of the Romanian presidential elections before the European Court of Human Rights. On December 6, 2024, as Romanians abroad had already begun to vote, Romania’s Constitutional Court (CCR) unanimously annulled the entire presidential election process, […]
Romania seems poised to become a bigger tourist attraction in 2025 after being recommended as a stellar destination by Vogue and CNN. Both publications signal that their choice for Romania was determined by the overtourism noticed in other locations. “The lifestyle editors at Vogue thought long and hard about the best places to travel in […]
The American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (AmCham Romania) expresses its concern over the fiscal measures announced by the Government, but also about the immediate deadline for their implementation, January 1, 2025, which puts the business environment in a difficult situation and further affects economic predictability and investor confidence."Over the past five years, AmCham […]
Romania has become a full member of the Schengen Area at midnight, in the night between Tuesday, December 31, and Wednesday, January 1.Thus, after joining the free movement space with its air and sea borders, as of Wednesday, Romania also joined the Schengen area with its land borders.According to the General Inspectorate of the Border […]
