Iohannis: Dowgrading outlook of country rating, because of poorly made budget by previous gov't

The downgrading of the outlook of Romania's rating by Standard & Poor's was made because of the budget slippage that appeared, motivated by the excessive spending and the poor budget made by the previous government, President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday.

"I do not expect a very big impact. Yes, we have to see where this downgrading comes from and it is sufficient to read the Standard & Poor's communication which clearly states that this downgrading was due to the budget slippage that appeared, motivated by the excessive spending. And the poor budget made by the previous government, not this one. It has just came and found the situation already deteriorated. I am convinced that as we continue, we will have a much stronger budget for 2020 and adequate budgetary behavior, the rating will be changed. For the average person, the impact will not be measurable, but, of course, some investors will think again if it is the case to invest in Romania or not and a small influence on international market interests is also possible," said the head of state, in Brussels, where he is attending the European Council meeting.

Standard & Poor's (S&P) has worsened the outlook of Romania's rating from stable to negative, due to the increase in the deficit, and has confirmed the rating "BBB- / A-3" for long and short-term debt in foreign currency and local currency