Romania is positioning itself as a key retail market in Central and Eastern Europe, with developers shifting focus from large cities to smaller communities, according to a Colliers report. While large cities previously concentrated three quarters of modern retail stock, rising incomes and demand for modern formats are making communities of around 50,000 inhabitants attractive for new investment, with retail parks driving development.
More than 417,000 sqm of industrial space were leased in H1 2025, marking an over 20% increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to Colliers data.
Romania's retail stock expanded by around 106,000 sqm during H1 2026, with another 205,000 sqm under development that could help the country reach the 5 million sqm milestone at the end of 2026, according to a Colliers report.
The Romanian government has adopted an emergency ordinance for administrative reform that officially recognises what specialists have long signalled: public administration is oversized, fragmented and financially unsustainable, according to an opinion by PwC Romania experts Dinu Bumbăcea and Cristian Cortez.
The European Commission (EC) has approved a €150 million Romanian scheme to support electricity storage, contributing to the transition towards a net-zero economy.
Romania's economy grew 0.7% in real terms in 2025 compared to 2024, though GDP fell 1.9% in Q4 compared to the previous quarter, according to provisional data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).