In 2023, the current account of the payment balance recorded a deficit of 22.694 billion euros, 12.85% lower than the one of 26.040 billion euros in 2022, the National Bank of Romania informed on Tuesday. In its structure, the balance of goods recorded a deficit lower by 2.990 billion euros, the service balance recorded an excess higher by 204 million euros, the primary income balance had a deficit lower by 9 million euros, while the secondary income balance recorded an excess higher by 143 million euros. Over January-December 2023, the total foreign debt grew by 24.926 billion euros, to 168.812 billion euros. The long term foreign debt was 121.162 billion euros on December 31, 2023 (71.8% of total foreign debt), on the rise by 22.8% against December 31, 2022; the short term foreign debt on December 31, 2023 was 47.650 billion euros (28.2% of total foreign debt) on the rise by 5.3% compared to December 31, 2022. The long term foreign debt service was 17.4% over January- December 2023, compared to 17.9% in 2022. The coverage degree of imports of goods and serviceson December 31, 2023 was 5.6 months, compared to 4.4 months on December 31, 2022. The short term foreign debt coverage, calculated as residual value, with BNR foreign currency reserves on December 31, 2023 was 97.4%, compared to 82.4% on December 31,2022.
Participation in cultural education activities continues to be limited, with the main barriers being difficult access, insufficient knowledge, and cost, the recently released Cultural Consumption Barometer 2024 shows. The report showed that many Romanians still associate culture with entertainment rather than with personal development or furthering their knowledge. The need for relaxation dominates in cultural […]
Roughly 84% of Romanians say that the pace of the state’s digitalization is slow or very slow, according to an Edge Institute & AtlasIntel study presented at the Digital Governance Summit 2025, which took place on Tuesday, November 25, at the presidential palace in Bucharest. The survey aims to capture the way citizens relate to […]
Romania’s Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) issued a negative opinion on the new bill regarding magistrates’ pensions. The move is only the latest development concerning a heated issue that led to tensions between the executive and the judiciary branch. CSM’s opinion is consultative, and the government led by Ilie Bolojan can still take responsibility for […]
Romania took the presidency of the Central European Initiative (or CEI) on Wednesday, November 26, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE). The organization is a regional intergovernmental forum established in 1989, following the fall of the Berlin Wall. It gathers 17 Member States in Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe […]
Trade between Romania and Poland continues to grow, with annual bilateral exchanges in goods now valued at more than EUR 12 billion, according to figures presented by the Polish-Romanian Bilateral Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PRBCC). The data was released during a reception in Bucharest marking Poland’s Independence Day and Romania’s National Day. Polish investments […]
As Romania moves closer to implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive, local employers are preparing for one of the most consequential shifts in workplace regulation in over a decade. The directive, set for transposition by June 2026, introduces strict new rules on salary disclosure, pay reporting, and equal-pay verification, aiming to close persistent gender gaps […]
