Romanian PM-designate Siegfried Mureșan promises fiscal relaxation “as soon as we can afford it”
Prime minister-designate Siegfried Mureșan said on September 21 that his objective is to bring the standard VAT rate back to 19% from the current 21%, where it was raised in August 2025, and to resume inflation-based indexation of public-sector wages and pensions as soon as Romania can afford it while remaining on its fiscal consolidation path.
iulian ernst · Journalist
· 2 min read
Mureșan said the government led by former prime minister Ilie Bolojan had to take difficult measures to put public finances back on track and prevent a repeat of the fiscal slippage recorded in 2024. He argued, echoing president Nicușor Dan's recent statements, that Romania's economic situation is now significantly better than it was a year ago, when Bolojan took office and implemented the first major fiscal consolidation measures.
“The situation we have today, after the measures taken by the Bolojan government, is better than the one he found [after the parliamentary elections in December 2024]. Romania's economy is more solid, and we do not need new tax, excise duty or VAT increases. We must continue to streamline state spending, cut waste, and, as the budgetary situation allows us, discuss fiscal relaxation. In the case of VAT, I said very clearly: the objective must be to return to 19% as soon as we can afford it,” Mureșan told Pro TV.
