In 2020, household consumption expenditure in the EU decreased by an unprecedented 8% compared with 2019, the largest annual reduction recorded since the time series started and it is due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission Statistics Office (Eurostat) reported on Monday.Social distancing measures, government restrictions imposed on the movement of people and non-essential economic activities severely affected household consumption expenditure.All the EU Member States recorded a decrease in household consumption expenditure. Data for Romania, Greece, Germany, Belgium, France, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, the Netherlands and Portugal are provisional, Eurostat said.When comparing 2019 with 2020, the largest decrease was recorded in Malta (around -22%), followed by Croatia, Spain and Greece (all around -16%). On the other hand, the smallest decreases were recorded in Slovakia and Denmark (both around -2%), followed by Lithuania and Poland (both around -3%), Sweden (minus 3.8%), and Romania (minus 4.3%).According to Eurostat, the largest decreases in household consumption expenditure were observed for 'Restaurants and hotels' (-38% compared with 2019), 'Clothing and footwear,' 'Transport' and 'Recreation and culture' (all -17%). On the other hand, the largest increases were recorded for 'Food and non-alcoholic beverages' (+3%) and 'Communications' (+2%).In 2020, over a quarter (26%) of household consumption expenditure was devoted to 'Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels,' making it the EU's largest household expenditure item, ahead of 'Food and non-alcoholic beverages' (15%) and 'Transport' (12%).
Representatives of the ruling Social Democratic Party, PSD, gathered for a congress in Bucharest on Friday, November 7, to elect new leadership and to amend the party’s Statute. The only candidate for party leader is Sorin Grindeanu, who held the interim position after Marcel Ciolacu's resignation in May. In his speech at the congress, Sorin […]
The e-commerce sector recorded strong early results on Black Friday 2025, according to real-time data released on Friday, November 7, by PayU GPO Romania from its dedicated Media Center. By 14:10, the payment processor reported successful transactions totaling RON 514 million (roughly EUR 101 million). PayU said shoppers had made roughly 889,000 purchases, with around […]
Contakt Express Logistik, one of Romania’s leading retailers of mobile phone and tablet accessories, with a network of over 235 stores, is set to launch the initial public offering (IPO) between November 12 and December 3, 2025. The company offers a wide range of products, including cases, screen protectors, chargers, and gadgets, both in physical […]
Romania attracts fewer international tourists today than it did during the communist era, making it the only country in Europe in this situation, the National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT) warned, as reported by news agency Agerpres. According to the organization, Romania received more than 3.4...
InterCapital ETF, the first international ETF provider in Romania, will launch two new exchange-traded funds on the Bucharest Stock Exchange starting November 11, 2025. The new instruments are the InterCapital CROBEX10 TR UCITS ETF, which offers exposure to the Croatian blue-chip equity market by tracking the performance of the CROBEX10tr index, and the InterCapital EUR […]
The Competition Councils of Romania, Bulgaria, and the Republic of Moldova have granted the necessary authorizations and approvals for the completion of the transaction through which Maspex Romania takes over the majority shareholding of Purcari Wineries. The Maspex Group, which has been present in Romania for nearly 30 years, became the majority shareholder of one […]
