Fitch's decision to maintain Romania's sovereign credit rating was the right one, and a downgrade would have been unfair to citizens and businesses that have borne the costs of fiscal adjustment, Fiscal Council President Daniel Daianu said on Thursday.

Speaking to private broadcaster Digi24, Daianu said maintaining the rating was justified given Romania's unprecedented fiscal consolidation effort.

'I considered Fitch's decision to maintain the rating to be the correct one, because a downgrade would have been unfair, first of all to citizens, who have made sacrifices, and to the business community, which has also borne the costs. In 2025 and 2026 - although we are only halfway through 2026 - a budget deficit of around 6% of GDP appears achievable, provided there is no major slippage. This is an unprecedented fiscal correction within the European Union. To have downgraded Romania in the context of such a significant fiscal adjustment would, in my view, have been unfair,' Daianu said.

According to him, Fitch's warning is linked to political developments and to the authorities' ability to continue fiscal consolidation and structural reforms.

He said the agency's concerns stemmed from the political process and from whether Romania is capable of forming governments able to assume responsibility and implement credible economic policies. Such policies, he argued, must continue fiscal consolidation while pursuing reforms.

Daianu also said it was unlikely that Romania would achieve in 2027 a budget deficit reduction comparable to the one expected this year.

He added that Moody's could take Fitch's decision into account when conducting its own assessment of Romania.

'A rating agency cannot afford to be more lenient than another. A rating agency values its reputation. That does not mean rating agencies never make mistakes, but the reassessment of Romania took into account arguments presented by the Romanian authorities, and, in my opinion, the decision to maintain the rating was justified. Moody's may take this precedent into account because Fitch has, by definition, set one. A downgrade was not warranted. Moody's works with the same data. We should not imagine that the Romanian government, the National Bank or the Finance Ministry can present different figures. The data are what they are - you cannot play with them,' Daianu said.

Last Friday, Fitch affirmed Romania's sovereign credit rating at 'BBB-' with a negative outlook.

All three major credit rating agencies - S&P Global Ratings, Moody's and Fitch - currently assign Romania a negative outlook, leaving the country one notch above junk status, or non-investment grade. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: George Banciulea; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)