The procedure for suspending European funds has been frozen and Romania maintains full access to essential development funding, Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare said on Tuesday, after the European Commission announced that it was temporarily suspending the excessive deficit procedure for nine member states, including Romania, inform Agerpres.
"Good news from Brussels: The European Commission confirms Romania's compliance with its fiscal commitments. The excessive deficit procedure remains suspended, and the procedure for suspending European funds has been frozen - Romania maintains full access to essential development financing. Today's assessment by the Commission is a new important result, validating the intense fiscal consolidation effort made in recent months. Romania aligns itself with the group of member states that respect their budgetary trajectories - a signal of stability and credibility at European level", the minister of finance wrote on Facebook.
According to him, Romania is assessed as compliant with EU fiscal rules in 2025-2026 and the excessive deficit procedure is maintained in abeyance, with no additional steps at this stage and, most importantly, without the risk of suspension of European funds.
Fiscal consolidation is visible, according to the Commission, and estimates show that the deficit will gradually decrease in the coming years, Nazare said.
"The EC encourages the continuation of reforms for a sustainable budget, attracting strategic investments and developing a competitive economy.
This progress provides us with a solid basis for the future. With the maintenance of European funds and the consolidation of fiscal credibility, Romania can aspire to accelerate large investments from the PNRR and the EU budget, increase the competitiveness of the Romanian economy in the European context, consolidate a resilient economy, capable of supporting innovation, digitalization and the green transition, but also to a stronger presence in the debates on the future of economic governance at EU level", the cited source emphasized.
According to the Ministry of Finance, due to the consistent fiscal consolidation measures taken in recent months, the net increase in expenditure in 2025 is estimated at only 0.1% of GDP above the ceiling recommended by the Council, and in 2026 it will be within the established limits. In addition, the budget deficit is estimated to decrease to 8.4% of GDP in 2025 and around 6% in 2026.
Following the progress made, the European Commission does not propose additional steps in the macroeconomic conditionality procedure and will not propose the suspension of European funds at this stage.
At the same time, the Commission underlines that the implementation and achievement of fiscal targets remain essential. Romania is encouraged to strengthen its tax administration and budgetary planning, in order to avoid exceeding expenditure compared to approved plans. In conclusion, continued efforts will be needed to reduce public debt and deficits, the Ministry of Finance says.
In the coming period, Romania's progress will be reviewed at the ECOFIN Council on 12 December 2025, where the Commission will present, in the context of the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact/SGP, the documents published on 25 November, together with any updates on the ongoing excessive deficit procedures. Romania will also continue to report semi-annually on deficit reduction measures (next deadline: spring 2026 - end of April). For its part, the Commission will actively monitor the fiscal-budgetary situation, and will come back with additional assessment elements together with the spring 2026 package of the European Semester.
The European Commission adopted the autumn package of the European Semester on Tuesday and announced that the excessive deficit procedure is temporarily suspended for nine member states, namely Romania, Austria, Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland and Slovakia, according to a statement from the European Commission.
Concretely, this means that no new procedural measures will be taken at this stage, but the procedure remains open (for example, if the deficit is not sustainably brought below 3% of GDP) and the obligations for the member states in the Commission recommendation are maintained.
Next summer, the European Commission will re-analyze the situation, having at its disposal the data for 2025.
Comentează