The 2025 budget was presented to the International Monetary Fund mission, which had no recommendations to make to the Romanian side, Finance Minister Tanczos Barna said on Tuesday."We received no recommendation on no visit, from anyone. (...) My colleagues had a purely technical discussion where we made a presentation of the budget. Period," the finance minister said after the debates on the general directions in the 2025 state budget blueprint held in the joint budget & finance committees of Parliament.Asked about the danger of Romania ending up in the 'junk' category of non-investment grade countries, after two rating agencies downgraded its outlook to negative, Barna replied: "I am convinced that Romania will not end up in junk. It's a strong signal, and this signal was received by the government and the governing coalition, and that's exactly why the budget is built on a 7% deficit. That is precisely why we were at ECOFIN last week and we committed once again to observe that calendar for reaching 3% in 7 years. That is precisely why we had a meeting with the World Bank, we met with investors, in order to convey this firm commitment of Romania: no matter the government at rule, no matter who the prime minister or the finance minister is, for 7 years Romania will stick to this plan. It is priority No. 1 for anyone who comes to government that Romania returns to a 3% deficit, that it continues investments and that we do not revert to a 3% deficit on the account of slashing investments from the budget. This parallelism can be maintained. We have European funds that support investments and we have a very firm commitment. You've seen that Mr. Bolojan has already started downsizing the staff at the institutions he leads. Reform has begun at county councils too, and we need reforms to keep spending under control," added the finance minister.An International Monetary Fund mission is in Bucharest over February 3 - 7 to review the latest economic developments and update forecasts.Currently, Romania does not have a financing agreement with the International Monetary Fund, but the financial institution annually evaluates the Romanian economy, based on Article IV consultations.As far as the rating outlook is concerned, in December 2024, rating agency Fitch announced that it had worsened Romania's outlook from stable to negative, and in January this year S&P Global made a similar announcement.
Romanian gas producer Romgaz (BVB: SNG) has filed an action with the European Court of Justice against the European Commission, requesting the annulment of certain regulations that impose CO2 storage quotas on oil and gas companies. The company considers the quotas disproportionate. It is the first time that Romgaz has initiated a direct action against […]
Bucharest residents can donate clothes in good condition, non-perishable food, and toys for the families affected by the explosion that left 3 dead and many others injured, and nearly collapsed the apartment building in District 5 on Friday, October 17. "Following the devastating explosion in District 5, entire families have been left without housing, and […]
RoPower Nuclear, the developer of the SMR (small modular reactor) project in Doiceşti, Romania, announced the signing of a contract with Studsvik Scandpower, one of the global leaders in software dedicated to nuclear fuel analysis, on Friday, October 17. The president of the Swedish group emphasized that Romania is setting an important precedent for the […]
Energy regulator ANRE has launched an investigation into whether the gas distributor followed proper safety procedures before the powerful explosion that killed three people and injured others at an apartment building in Bucharest’s Rahova district on Friday morning, October 17. According to
In the first half of 2025, Romania ranked 52nd worldwide among the countries most frequently affected by cyber activities, according to the new Microsoft Digital Defense Report. The sixth annual report, covering trends from July 2024 to June 2025, emphasizes that traditional security measures are no longer sufficient. Modern defenses and strong collaboration between industries […]
Via Transilvanica, the long-distance trail that traverses Romania’s cultural, historical, and natural landscapes, has been awarded silver in the “Peace, understanding and inclusion” category at the 2025 Europe Responsible Tourism Awards. The initiative is organized by the International Centre for Responsible Tourism Global (ICRT Global). The award ceremony took place at the Press Club Brussels […]
