Romania will meet its deficit target

Romania will keep its budget deficit below 3%, as previously undertaken. The Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici made this statement in Washington, where he talked to IMF and World Bank officials

Corina Cristea, 23.04.2018, 14:08

The Romanian Minister for Finances Eugen Teodorovici reiterated, during a meeting with the head of the IMF’s European Department Poul Thomsen in the USA, the promise that Romania will comply with its commitments before international financial institutions with respect to keeping the budget deficit below 3%.

According to a news release issued by the Finance Ministry, the Romanian official also promised that the measures taken this year by the Government will ensure sustainable economic growth for 2018 and for the next years. On April 20 and 21, Eugen Teodorovici took part in the spring meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund group, held in Washington.

“Romania is going in the right direction, resuming its sustainable economic growth based on investments. The dynamics of budget revenues in the first quarter is better than the forecast annual GDP dynamics, and with the exception of the level reported for the first quarter of 2015, it is the best since the economic crisis,” Teodorovici said.

The Finance Minister also had a meeting with Cyrill Muller, the World Bank vice-president for Europe and Central Asia, with whom he analysed the projects currently financed by the WB in Romania, including one on the modernisation of the National Fiscal Administration Agency.

Eugen Teodorovici proposed to the WB officials a new approach concerning the loan granting method, which would give more flexibility to the spending of loan money depending on the stage of preparedness and implementation of the projects. The agenda of the Romanian delegation also included meetings with representatives of investment banks, financial rating agencies and international financial institutions. The topics approached included the macroeconomic environment, macro-prudential oversight, the inflation and priorities for the forthcoming period.

The IMF has recently revised its estimates on Romania’s economic growth this year, from 4.4% to 5.1%. Romania may see this year the second-highest economic growth rate in Europe after Malta. The Fund also adjusted its forecast on Romania’s current account deficit, from 2.9% to 3.7% of the GDP in 2018, and the same figure for 2019.