Romania to finalise 2025 budget revision this month

Romania’s government will complete its 2025 budget revision by the end of September, prime minister Ilie Bolojan announced on Wednesday, September 24. The revised budget will be launched on Thursday, published no later than Friday, and adopted in an extraordinary cabinet meeting early next week, he said in a press conference.

The European Commission has agreed to Romania running a budget deficit of 8.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025, compared to 7.1% initially planned and 7.5% informal target envisaged around mid-year by the newly formed cabinet, prime minister Ilie Bolojan also announced.

The revision aims to secure funding for current payments, increase allocations for social assistance, and provide a modest boost to investment spending. Bolojan said the move comes in response to financial pressures caused by excessive contracting under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), which now totals about EUR 40 billion.

The prime minister attributed this year’s high budget deficit to the scale of the contracts.

“We over-contracted significant amounts on projects from European funds; we practically doubled our allocated amounts. Instead of just over EUR 20 billion in grants and loans, the signed contracts were approximately EUR 40 billion, if we subtract those that were terminated,” Bolojan said.

He explained that the expanded commitments place pressure on both the 2025 and 2026 budgets. To fund investments related to the over-contracted PNRR projects, the government plans to reduce operating expenses.

“All the money that will be saved additionally next year through spending cuts and better efficiency will be allocated to the completion of these PNRR projects,” the prime minister said.

He noted that the projects include school renovations, new equipment, and energy efficiency works already underway in localities across the country.

(Photo source: Gov.ro)