Romania’s budget deficit went up to 2.5 percent of the GDP after the first nine months of this year, to a value of  about EUR 3.1 billion (RON 13.7 billion), according to the Romanian Ministry of Finance. The country’s deficit reached 2.39 percent of GDP at the end of August this year.

The consolidated budget revenues amounted to around EUR 30.7 billion (RON 131.6 billion) in the first nine months of 2011, up 9.3 percent compared to the revenues posted in the same period last year. The revenues from the VAT recorded the main increase of 25.4 percent, compared to the same period last year.

The general consolidated budget’s expenses amounted to RON 145.2 billion, and in nominal terms have increased by 1.1 percent over the same period last year, mainly due to increased costs for European funded projects.

The costs on goods and services rose by 6 percent compared to the same period in 2010, while the payments for European funded projects reported a year-on-year increase of 61.5 percent. The investment costs amounted to EUR 5.3 billion (RON 22.9 billion) between January-September 2011.

Romanian President Traian Basescu recently said that the country’s deficit target has to be revised due to the financing costs. “The 2012 deficit should be lower than 3 percent. The Government must find solutions to reduce the need for loans,” he said.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Sxc.hu)