Romania’s government plans to publish and approve the draft public budget for 2026 by mid-February, with parliamentary debate and a final vote scheduled for the second half of the month, minister of finance Alexandru Nazare said in a Facebook post on January 19. He noted that the agreed calendar reflects a shared understanding within the coalition regarding the need for predictability in fiscal policymaking.

Romania envisages a budget deficit of 6.0%-6.5% of GDP this year, from a gap estimated at 7.76% of GDP last year and 8.65% of GDP in 2024. Romania is under the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) and plans to bring the deficit under 3% of GDP by 2031.

Minister Nazare said the timetable was agreed on January 19 by all parties in the governing coalition, marking what he described as an important alignment on the pace and stages of the budget approval process. 

“Today, together with my colleagues from the governing coalition, we agreed on a clear and realistic calendar for the approval of the state budget for 2026,” Nazare wrote on his Facebook page. 

He added that the government would first approve budget ceilings, followed by consultations with all ministries.

Nazare stressed that the 2026 budget should be built on realistic assumptions, warning against the practice of overstating revenues. 

“Based on this analysis, but also on the experience of previous years, the budget for 2026 must be, above all, a fair budget: it must reflect the real level of expenditures, without overestimating revenues,” he said.

The finance minister added that only a credible and responsible budget framework would allow the government to generate sustainable growth and tangible results. He said the central priority for the year remains economic recovery, with a focus on maximising the absorption of available European Union funds.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Gov.ro)