The fiscal sustainability framework is a necessary condition for improving economic growth, economic stability and enhancing the quality of life in Romania in the future, European Commissioner for economy and productivity, implementation and simplification Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday after a meeting with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan at the Victoria Palace.

European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said that it is perfectly natural for the discussions to be focused on Romania's budgetary situation and on the next steps to be taken for the fiscal sustainability framework, which is a necessary condition for improving economic growth, economic stability and enhancing the quality of life in Romania in the future. He mentioned that Romania's economic performance over the past decade had been solid, but that it had been accompanied by an increase in the current deficit and the current account deficit, which caused concern. According to him, the deficit had reached 9.3 percent of the GDP the previous year, an unsustainable level, the highest in the entire European Union.

Dombrovskis underscored that it was essential for bold measures to be taken to correct the situation and reduce Romania's vulnerabilities. He mentioned that work has been carried out with the Romanian Government and authorities over the past month, especially with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, to address these urgent issues and he thanked them for their close cooperation in this regard.

The European official expressed the European Commission's expectations regarding the reduction of the budget deficit mentioning that the scale and nature of the measures taken were fully in line with the efforts to bring Romania back in line with what was required, but that the Commission still expected the budget deficit to stand at 8.4 percent. He emphasised that it is important to maintain a solid framework, meaning that the deficit target for 2026 be respected in order to ensure the financial stability achieved so far and to correct the excessive deficit by 2030, according to the plans. He added that this strengthened the positive results already emerging and that financial markets had acknowledged these developments, allowing Romania to remain a recommended destination for investment in line with market perceptions and underlined that it is important for Romania to maintain access to international capital markets and to ensure it could finance its policy priorities at acceptable costs.

Moreover, the European Commissioner added that it is necessary to ensure that the public finance system and economic growth deliverers solid performance, highlighting that continuous efforts and commitment are required.

According to him, another priority is the implementation of the commitments undertaken by Romania through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).

Through the swift implementation of the PNRR provisions, it is very important to carry these processes forward, Dombrovskis said. He said that the Commission had given a positive assessment, which should prepare the successful implementation of the plan by the August 2026 deadline. Beyond the PNRR, Romania would be able to rely on substantial support from the European Union through cohesion funds, the SAFE instrument for defence and the long-term European budget. He emphasised that it would be crucial for Romania to ensure coherent, stable and transparent mechanisms to facilitate the absorption of these funds, which benefit the Romanian economy, citizens and business environment. European Commissioner Dombrovskis added that the Commission is counting on Romania to remain an important partner in addressing today's challenges, from competitiveness to defence, ensuring that a stable and strong economy is vital from this perspective. AGERPRES(RO - writing by: Daniel Florea; EN - writing by: Rodica State)