Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday that the implementation of the latest consolidation package announced by the authorities in Bucharest will reflect in its updated fiscal forecasts at the agency's scheduled sovereign rating review on August 15."How far the announced measures improve prospects for debt stabilisation and begin rebuilding fiscal credibility will also reflect our assessment of their macroeconomic impact and potential implementation risks. As we noted following May's presidential elections, deficit reduction and debt stabilisation are key for the sovereign rating," Fitch said in a release.The package was approved on July 7 by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's new pro-EU coalition government. The government estimates that its budgetary impact is 1.1% of GDP this year and 3.5% in 2026. The total impact is evenly balanced between revenue and expenditure measures, with the first wave taking effect on 1 August, followed by additional measures from January 1, 2026, the document notes.According to Fitch Ratings, political risks have eased since the previous government introduced a consolidation package in late 2024 amid heightened tensions triggered by the annulment of November's presidential election. Pro-EU centrist Nicusor Dan won May's rerun presidential election and the four parties in Bolojan's coalition collectively represent about two-thirds of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Dan and Bolojan have both stressed the need for deficit reduction. Agreeing how to reduce record deficits was part of the coalition negotiations that resulted in ambitious consolidation targets."A significant fiscal consolidation will weigh on economic growth, and implementation risks cannot be discounted. More than half the envisaged additional revenue this year comes from a 2pp increase of the standard VAT rate to 21% and of the current reduced rates of 5% and 9% to a single 11% rate from August. This will generate higher inflation, which will further erode real incomes," the rating agency said.All three major rating agencies (S&P Global Ratings, Moody's and Fitch) have a "negative" outlook on Romania's sovereign rating, which places the country on the verge of a "junk" rating (not recommended for investment).
Romanian director Cristian Mungiu will be part of the jury that will judge the films in the main competition of this year’s Venice Film Festival - Venezia 82. The jury, headed by American director Alexander Payne, includes French director and screenwriter Stéphane Brizé, Italian director and screenwriter Maura Delpero, Iranian director and writer Mohammad Rasoulof, Brazilian actress, writer, and […]
Romania continues to face significant prison overcrowding, according to the Council of Europe’s latest data, released on Friday, July 18. The 2024 Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations (SPACE I) show that Romania is among six countries in Europe with severe overcrowding, housing 116 inmates for every 100 available places. The report, which...
Chris Hemsworth returns to Disney+ in August with a new season of the National Geographic documentary series Limitless, this time focused not just on longevity, but on discovering how to live better. Titled Limitless: Live Better Now, the three-part season follows Hemsworth through physical, emotional, and mental challenges across six countries, with one standout episode […]
The Black Sea 200 Regatta 2025, Romania’s first non-stop offshore regatta with a 200 nautical mile route, takes place between July 21 and 27. Now in its first edition, the event brings together more than 10 boats from Romania and Bulgaria, according to the organizers. The endurance course will start and finish in the Romanian […]
The National Environmental Guard has fined an illegally operating zoo in Dâmbovița county, southern Romania, a total of RON 120,000 following a joint inspection that uncovered serious violations, including the lack of environmental authorization and inadequate conditions for wild animals kept in captivity. The zoo was reportedly charging RON 50 per person for entry and […]
The National Cybersecurity Directorate (DNSC) and engineering company Enevo Group have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to strengthen cybersecurity in Romania’s energy sector. The partnership aims to test and develop monitoring and alerting technologies for cyberattacks, and to improve national response coordination to incidents affecting critical infrastructure, the companies said. The agreement focuses on sharing […]
