Romania's economic support package will exceed 7% of GDP this year, finance minister Florin Citu announced in a Facebook post.

This would result in about RON 75 bln (more than EUR 15 bln) injected in the local economy.

The finance minister said the Government has already injected RON 34.5 bln (EUR 7.1 bln or 3.2% of GDP) into the economy in the first nine months.

The intensity of the economic support package should thus be much stronger in Q4 - over 3.8% of GDP in Q4.

The breakdown of the RON 34.5 bln (EUR 7.1 bln) economic support already injected includes RON 14.4 bln "tax measures," RON 0.25 bln bonuses paid to those having paid their dues in time, RON 3.2 bln extra VAT refund compared to last year (this may be due to eliminating the lagged refund), RON 6.9 bln more public investments compared to last year, and RON 9.8 bln expenditures related directly to the sanitary crisis.

Another RON 30 bln will be the bank loans for SMEs and large companies, guaranteed by the Government.

However, the direct expenditures for these programs are estimated at under RON 1 bln this year, covering subsidized interest costs and loan guarantee fees.

"This massive program to stimulate the economy stopped the decline of the economy in 2020 (we avoid the technical recession) and guarantees a strong economic growth in 2021," Citu concluded.

(Photo: Gov.ro)

andrei@romania-insider.com