Deputy PM Tanczos Barna: Budget deficit unsustainable without corrective measures

 Deputy Prime Minister Tanczos Barna said on Thursday that Romania's budget deficit is unsustainable without corrective measures."This 9.3% deficit with which we ended last year is a significant problem and time is very short. We are pressed for time because we had a period with a lot of elections, we had a period in which Romania assumed through several documents (...) these fiscal-budgetary corrections. Both the EU and the rating agencies that I spoke to the other day said that the first options presented by Romania are not sufficient, which is why we have drafted this package," Barna told a press conference at the Victoria Palace of Government.He pointed out that the government has decided to take responsibility for the first package aimed at correcting the budget deficit."We are facing a major challenge regarding the country's fiscal-budgetary future, but this challenge can be turned into an opportunity if firm decisions are taken and the necessary reforms are implemented to create a leaner state, a state that respects its citizens more, a state that offers better services," said the deputy prime minister.He added that in recent decades Romania has seen a significant economic recovery, catching up a lot of the gap with other EU member states."Never in Romania's history have we been so well positioned in this region of Europe in terms of GDP per capita and other macro-economic indicators, but this growth has also generated imbalances that need to be corrected," Tanczos Barna emphasized.He argued that this trajectory can be maintained "only if we urgently manage the accumulated vulnerabilities, namely the twin deficits"."This situation created in the last 10-12 years - a very big burden on everything that means stability, predictability in Romania. The accelerated growth of public debt and the budget deficit are those elements that need to be corrected in the near future. The first six months have been marked by major challenges, both internally and externally. We know very well that during April the dispute between the US and the EU on customs duties started, we had the situation of economic downturn and decline in industrial production in the main EU countries," Barna said.  (Photo:https://gov.ro/)