Business Forum • 22 April, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Romania's budget deficit calculated according to the European ESA methodology has dropped from 9.3% of GDP in 2024 to 7.9% of GDP in 2025, representing a correction of 1.4 percentage points of GDP.
The result is better than initial estimates from markets and international institutions, which indicated an ESA deficit between 8.2% and 8.4% of GDP for 2025. This evolution confirms the effectiveness of budget balancing measures adopted in the second half of last year and marks Romania's return to the fiscal trajectory assumed towards the European Commission through the Fiscal-Budget Plan.
"The data confirmed today by Eurostat shows that Romania has entered a real stage of correction and fiscal-budgetary maturation, rebuilding the credibility necessary for returning to the trajectory assumed towards European partners and financial markets," said Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare. "We have reduced the deficit without stopping investments and without abandoning Romania's major modernisation projects. This is perhaps the most important credibility signal we can transmit to both citizens and investors and European partners."
Eurostat data shows Romania achieved one of the largest fiscal corrections in a single year among EU economies. Comparatively, other member states recorded more moderate adjustments or maintained high deficits, such as Poland with an estimated deficit of approximately 7.3% of GDP, Belgium with 5.2% of GDP and France with 5.1% of GDP, while Italy achieved an adjustment of approximately 0.3 percentage points of GDP.
The deficit correction was achieved through a mix of measures targeting increased budget revenues, reduction and streamlining of expenditures, reorganisation of investment financing and more efficient use of European funds. Romania maintained investments at a very high level of 7.2% of GDP, among the largest in the European Union, continuing to support infrastructure development and implementation of projects financed from European funds.