International rating agency S&P said on September 14 that it does not expect imminent risks to Romania’s near-term fiscal consolidation following the resignation of USR-PLUS ministers on September 7. “Nevertheless, should the political deadlock persist, it could disrupt progress on much-needed fiscal reform,” it concludes on a note leaving the door open to a rather broad range of scenarios, https://www.romania-insider.com/ informs. The absorption of EU funds and fiscal reforms are key to stabilizing the country’s fiscal and external positions, the rating agency’s statement reads. The rather positive comment may look surprising if regarded from a short-term perspective. But from a longer-term perspective, the impact of the current protracted political turmoil has a much smaller impact on the fiscal policy compared to last year when the Social Democrats were threatening to damage the public finance sustainability with bills passed on a weekly basis, such as the one on 40% rise of the public pensions. In April this year, S&P was the last of the major three to revise the country’s outlook to stable (from negative) in response to the new Government’s fiscal consolidation plans. The agency will review the country’s ratings on October 15. Until then, the political outlook will gain more visibility. Under the baseline scenario, S&P assumes that the Government would aim to preserve its capacity to function over the short term in order to contract this funding, “which we understand is ready to be disbursed,” the agency reads. In the rating agency’s view, the Government passing last week the budget revision “suggests that there is [enough] capacity to execute policy.”
The 2025 edition of the year’s first major film fest in Europe (and one of the biggest worldwide), the Berlin International Film Festival, took place between 13 and 23 February. My notes come with a bit of delay, as I was also hit by the festival flu that got so many of us sniffling and […]
In the absence of current negative influences, Romania’s economy could have an annual growth potential of 3-4%. Political instability and global geopolitical risks are dampening growth. Economic growth in 2024 was driven by wage increases and accelerating consumption, satisfied however largely through imports. Due to a decline in domestic economic competitiveness, net exports contributed negatively […]
The Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) announced on Thursday, March 13, the launch of a new financial education section on the BVB Research Hub platform, dedicated to retail investors. The capital market operator said that it started this project out of the need to increase the level of financial education and promote the investment culture. It […]
The Romanian governing coalition's presidential candidate, Crin Antonescu, announced on Thursday, March 13, that he is launching a podcast designed to popularize his candidacy before the May elections. Antonescu, who is backed by the alliance made up of the Liberals (PNL), Social Democrats (PSD), the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians (UDMR), and the minorities, stated that he will […]
Some 4,500 teachers will learn about rights and responsibilities online, accessibility, inclusion, online well-being, and ethics as part of Incubatorul Civic Digital (ICD - The Civic Digital Incubator), a digital citizenship and democratic culture project implemented by Institutul Intercultural Timișoara, Asociația TechSoup and Școala de Valori. The project, which offers free training, is aimed at […]
Mihaela Murariu, Attorney at Law at Grecu Partners Business Law Firm, analyzes the impact of Artificial Intelligence on personal data protection. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a ubiquitous technology, used in more and more fields, from marketing and healthcare to recruitment and financial services. However, the widespread use of AI raises numerous questions about privacy […]
