Interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan reaffirmed Romania's commitment to continuing the process of fiscal consolidation and reducing risks associated with public finance at a meeting he held at Victoria Palace on Tuesday with a delegation of investors comprising representatives of J.P. Morgan, foreign-owned companies and international financial institutions.

According to a Government press release, the discussions took place against the backdrop of the current political and economic situation in Romania and focused mainly on the evolution of public finance, the outlook for the budget deficit, the state's financing costs, the absorption of European funds and the need to continue the fiscal consolidation process and the reforms already underway to maintain fiscal stability and investor confidence.

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan thanked business representatives for their cooperation over the past year and for the confidence they have shown in Romania through the investments they have made, the quoted source said.

The company representatives, in turn, praised the measures adopted by the Government over the past year to reduce the budget deficit and control public spending, stressing that the results achieved had helped maintain investor confidence in Romania's economy.

'Investors stressed, however, that the results achieved so far need to be consolidated and that predictability in economic and fiscal policies is essential for medium- and long-term investment decisions. In this context, business representatives expressed concern that changes in the Government's composition could affect the pace of reforms, control over public spending and the trajectory of budget deficit reduction,' according to the press release.

In the same context, the acting prime minister stressed that Romania urgently needs a fully empowered Government and a responsible prime minister who can continue the fiscal consolidation process in the coming years, as well as the reforms needed to reduce structural imbalances.

The head of the Executive also said that deficit reduction must continue through tighter control of public spending, greater efficiency in the public administration and the prioritisation of investments.

Another important topic discussed was the absorption of European funds under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), particularly the grants component.

'We will make every effort to maximise the absorption rate of PNRR funds by the end of the year. We must make the most of this resource for investment and economic development,' Bolojan is quoted in the press release as saying.

The meeting at Victoria Palace was also attended, alongside Prime Minister Bolojan, by Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare, Director General of the State Treasury at the Ministry of Finance Stefan Nanu and the prime minister's honorary adviser Ionut Dumitru. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Florea; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)