Romania aims to “relaunch the economy,” prime minister says after meeting with foreign investors

Romanian prime minister Luca Niculescu met on Wednesday, November 4, with representatives of foreign investors. During the meeting, the PM said that the government's main objective is to relaunch the economy.

The meeting was attended by finance minister Alexandru Nazare, foreign affairs minister Danuț Neculăescu, energy minister Dumitru Chisăliță, labor minister Florin Manole, health minister Alexandru Rogobete, environment minister Natalia Intotero, and digitalization minister Bogdan Dumitru, alongside the prime minister's Chancellery head, Oleg Ungureanu.

From the business community’s side, the delegation was made up of representatives from AHK Romania, AmCham Romania, BRCC, CCIFER, the Foreign Investors Council (FIC), CCIpR and NRCC.

Government representatives said Romania intends to take a more coordinated approach to economic diplomacy and increase the effectiveness of measures to combat tax evasion, alongside reducing bureaucracy, in order to implement the standards of developed economies as closely as possible to investors' needs.

Romania’s accession to the OECD was mentioned as an essential national objective for raising the country's profile and attracting capital.

“The positive signal in recent days, when Romania raised EUR 4.5 billion from international financial markets, confirms that overcoming the political deadlock in Bucharest has increased the country's external credibility. Restarting the engines of the economy through new investments can generate new jobs and opportunities, especially for young people,” Luca Niculescu said.

On the other side, at the top of the priorities highlighted by private sector representatives was fiscal consolidation, a key element for Romania's competitiveness. The representatives of companies highlighted reducing the budget deficit, lowering inflation, and implementing structural reforms.

The leaders of business organizations and government representatives also discussed and reconfirmed the fiscal commitments made when taking office, such as eliminating the minimum turnover tax (IMCA) as of January 1, 2027, as well as operationalizing the state aid schemes included in the economic recovery package.

Business representatives also proposed a series of sector-specific measures to ensure that industry has access to energy at competitive prices, accelerate the digitalization of public services and rethink the VAT collection mechanism in order to combat tax evasion.

To facilitate dialogue with representatives of foreign investors, who presented a series of concrete proposals for measures to stimulate the economy, Niculescu asked the head of the prime minister's Chancellery to organize quarterly meetings attended by government representatives.