Political leaders must focus more on structural problems and less on political rhetoric and slogans, President Nicusor Dan said on Friday in reaction to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) showing that Romania ended last year in a technical recession, calling for a balanced approach in a Facebook post.

According to the president, the national economy contracted by 2% as a result of reduced consumption: for some, the decline in consumption stemmed from lower purchasing power; for others, from caution regarding the economic outlook.

However, he added, Romania is managing to reduce a massive budget deficit without external assistance, without IMF support and without the type of economic crisis experienced in 2009-2010.

'This is not something we are discovering now. Romania's economy has been slowing for four years, despite enormous deficits. Limiting corruption, increasing competitiveness, and aligning the expectations of the private sector with political action are issues we have long needed to address,' the president said.

Nevertheless, he believes there are 'reasons for optimism'.

'We have a solid private economy. The SAFE programme was well designed by the government and will generate growth. European funds - both through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and structural funds - will also support development. There has been modest progress in reducing tax evasion,' Nicusor Dan explained.

In this context, the president addressed both the political class and citizens.

'Clearly, Romania has a great deal to repair - in justice, in the economy, in education and in healthcare. Political leaders must focus more on structural problems and less on political rhetoric and slogans. And you, the citizens, should continue, in a balanced manner, to put pressure on decision-makers to resolve these issues. I remain engaged and alongside you in this effort, supporting the same objectives and the same sense of public responsibility,' he wrote on the social media platform.

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Romania's economy grew by 0.6% in 2025 overall but entered a technical recession at year-end after GDP contracted for the second consecutive quarter, falling by 1.9% in the fourth quarter compared with the third, according to flash data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). The third quarter had already recorded a 0.2% decline.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, GDP dropped by 1.9% quarter-on-quarter and by 1.6% compared with the fourth quarter of 2024, while unadjusted data showed a marginal annual increase of 0.1% in the final quarter.

The INS also revised earlier quarterly figures following the inclusion of fourth-quarter data, in line with standard European practice of recalculating seasonally adjusted series each quarter. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Ghita; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)