*Vienna proposes easier air travel in the EU for Bulgarians and Romanians, according to media reports, https://www.politico.eu/ informs. Austria’s interior minister indicated that the country’s objection to Romania and Bulgaria joining the Schengen area could be softened when it comes to air traffic. Multiple Austrian media outlets have reported that Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner is willing to remove barriers to intra-EU travel for Romanians and Bulgarians, while remaining against the two countries joining the Schengen area due to illegal migration concerns. Under his offer, passengers from Romania and Bulgaria wouldn’t need to go through passport control when flying within the EU. However, there are also a set of conditions for this to be allowed, including Bulgaria needing to agree to more Frontex operations and increased border controls in Romania and Bulgaria. Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu wrote on Facebook that the ice had been broken, saying the development means that “Romanians will no longer stand in endless queues when they fly within the European Union.” “After years of waiting, we will realize this dream together! Romania deserves to be in Schengen,” Ciolacu said. In September, Ciolacu threatened Austria with a court case, saying that he would challenge Vienna's veto at the European Court of Justice “in order to claim compensation for the losses caused by non-accession.”
Romanian retail chain La Cocoş recorded a turnover of RON 1.18 billion (EUR 237 million) in 2024, marking a 20.7% y/y increase and becoming the first domestically owned retailer to exceed the RON 1 billion benchmark, according to Ziarul Financiar. Founded in 2014 by entrepreneur Iulian Nica, La Cocoş...
Even though Romania's currency, RON (leu), has depreciated relatively steeply in the past weeks, compared to historic low volatility, ING Romania maintains its exchange rate forecast for this year and argues that the national currency could recover from recent losses. "However, it is important to look at the bigger picture: financial markets can often have […]
Romania's industrial production index contracted by 4.2% y/y in Q1 and neared the lowest level in the past three years, according to the statistics office INS. The seasonal and workday-adjusted index (-0.4% q/q) has followed a visible downward trend after the post-Covid recovery in 2021 and 2022. The seasonal and workday-adjusted index in Q1 was […]
The net foreign direct investments to Romania contracted by 29% y/y to EUR 4.87 billion in 12 months to March 2025, after a 33% y/y contraction (to EUR 1.67 billion) in Q1, according to data published by the National Bank of Romania (BNR). The net foreign direct investments accounted for only 1.4% of the GDP […]
Romania’s current account (CA) deficit rose by 50% to EUR 33.0 billion in 12 months to March 2025, after a sharp 82% y/y surge (to EUR 7.7 billion) in Q1, according to data published by the National Bank of Romania (BNR). The CA gap reached 9.3% of GDP (based on the latest available 4-quarter GDP […]
Romania's general government budget deficit hit 2.94% of GDP in January-April (RON 56.2 billion, or EUR 11 billion), up from 2.3% of GDP in Q1, according to Ziarul Financiar and
