February 1, 2025 UPDATE 1
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 01.02.2025, 18:25
2025 BUDGET – The Government has passed Romania’s draft budget for 2025 without modifying any taxes. According to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the budget focuses on development with 30 billion EUR allotted to investments, an increase of about 6 billion EUR compared to the previous year. At the same time, operating costs will be reduced by 0.5%, and personnel and goods and services costs will be adjusted. The budget was built on economic growth of 2.5%, a budget deficit of 7.04% of GDP, and an average annual inflation rate of 4.4%. Investments and protecting citizens’ purchasing power are the main priorities of the state budget, authorities say. The ministries that will benefit from a budget increase are the ministries of Investment, Transport, Education and the Labor Ministry, while the ministries of Culture, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, the two chambers of Parliament and the Presidential Administration will see their budgets slashed. The budget and social security bills have been expedited to Parliament for debate and approval.
FINANCIAL RATING – International rating agencies will not downgrade Romania’s rating this year to the category of country not recommended to investors, Finance Minister Tánczos Barna has argued. The Romanian official strongly ruled out such a scenario, invoking current economic indicators, the robustness of Romanian economy, the budget deficit of 7% of GDP and the government’s commitment in the field. Minister Barna said he has received negative signals from rating agencies, which in the last two months have lowered Romania’s credit outlook, from stable to “negative”. For this reason, the government has pledged to keep the deficit in check and lower it over the coming years, the Finance Minister added, arguing that the IMF’s visit next week is merely meant to conduct an analysis of the latest evolution.
FLU – A state of epidemiological alert has been declared in Romania due to the large number of respiratory infections. In the last three weeks, cases of influenza, viral infections and pneumonia have exceeded the average of previous cold seasons. Last week, authorities reported nearly 134,000 respiratory infections, of which 11,000 were influenza. Most patients were registered in the capital Bucharest and in the counties of Cluj (northwest), Braşov (center), Prahova (south), Constanţa (southeast), Iaşi (northeast) and Sibiu (center). Health authorities also announced eight new influenza-related fatalities, one of them in a child under 4 years old. The number of people who have died from the flu virus this season has reached 22. Hospitals have imposed visitation restrictions, and doctors recommend the observance of hygiene rules, avoiding crowded places or communities of people showing flu symptoms. The Ministry also recommends daily triage in educational institutions and home isolation of children who show symptoms. (VP)
