Romania gets EC's nod for 8.4% of GDP budget deficit this year

The European Commission agreed that Romania will reach a budget deficit of 8.4% of GDP this year, specifically RON 159 billion (almost EUR 32 billion), prime minister Ilie Bolojan announced at a press conference held in Bucharest on September 24, following his visit to Brussels. The expert teams from Romania's Finance Ministry and the European Commission have carried out negotiations over the past few weeks.

The deficit is expected to drop to just over 6% of GDP next year, Bolojan announced. The net primary expenditures, the benchmark followed by the European Commission under the Excessive Deficit Procedure, would just enter the planned trajectory envisaged under the 7-year consolidation plan, he explained.