2026 Budget Bill under Public Review
The Romanian finance ministry has made public the draft budget for 2026, but its endorsement in Parliament is uncertain.
Sorin Iordan, 11.03.2026, 14:00
Romania’s Gross Domestic Product is expected to exceed EUR 392 billion for the first time in 2026, according to the draft budget for this year, made public by the finance ministry. The institution says the bill is realistic, built on the principles of fiscal responsibility, balance and sustainable economic development.
The document provides for a 1% economic growth rate, an average annual inflation of 6.5%, a 6.2% budget deficit and an average net salary of EUR 1,090 per month.
The draft budget includes commitment credits for launching state aid schemes and stimulating private investments. The government also intends to earmark a record level of resources this year for the development of communities and local public administrations. In this regard, over EUR 32 billion has been earmarked for investments, over EUR 4.9 billion more than last year, which raises their share to over 8% of GDP. Most of these investments are financed from EU funds, which exceed EUR 21.5 billion.
Interest expenses paid by Romania are expected to increase this year by almost EUR 2 billion, and the share of gross government debt will reach 61.8% of GDP.
In order to ensure fiscal and budgetary discipline, the bill also sets a number of ceilings for the main categories of expenses, including personnel, social assistance and public debt. Thus, in the public sector, pensions will be frozen, bonuses will no longer be granted, and overtime will no longer be paid.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan announced his intention to have the draft budget passed in the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, so that it will reach Parliament at the end of the week.
But it is not certain that the document will be backed by the Social Democrats in Parliament. This Sunday they will decide whether or not to vote in favour of the bill, after the parties in the ruling coalition failed to agree on the budget appropriations.
The bone of contention is the solidarity measures for people with low incomes and the amounts channeled from the state budget to city halls in the country. The solidarity measures proposed by the Social Democrats and backed by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania amount to almost EUR 590 million and target all people with low incomes.
In contrast, the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union want only half of this amount to be granted, and only in specific cases. They say that the rest of the money should be secured from sources that the Social Democrats must identify, or from EU funds, an option that the Social Democratic Party does not agree with.
Political sources also say that the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, with support from the Social Democrats, wants the budget to provide more money for city halls in the country, to finalise projects already started and financed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the “Anghel Saligny” local infrastructure modernisation programme. (AMP)
