Productivity - key to resistance in Eurozone, basis of competitiveness (BNR's Daianu)

Productivity is the key to resistance in the Eurozone, the basis of competitiveness, but it must not be achieved through low wages because otherwise we are bound to remain a peripheral economy, Daniel Daianu, member of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) Board of Administration stated on Wednesday at the debate titled "The Romanian economic model in the EU. Romania - 2040 Horizon."

According to him the currency risk disappears in the Eurozone but not the solvency and liquidity one. He said there are countries in the European Union which, due to lack of robustness, continue to be threatened by the solvency and liquidity risk.

Daianu underscored that the Exchange Rate Mechanism 2 (ERM 2) is not any less exacting that the Eurozone. The solidity of the public budget is mandatory upon accessing ERM 2. Fiscal revenues are a national security issue. The objective would be to reach 29-30 percent of the GDP from the current 26 percent.

He also affirmed that institutional enhancement and efficient public policies are also needed.

Daniel Daianu said it is possible the 2021-2027 exercise be the last one to allocate such large amounts for the Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy.

"Well over 65 percent are for these two core components in the European Union Budget. Consequently, a robust economy is one that does not depend on European funds. A robust economy is one thriving off its own resources. What are we supposed to supplement with European funds? Investment from the internal resource, from the internal economy and certainly to take advantage of these agriculture subsidies that go around in the entire European Union. But I think that becoming structurally addicted to European funds doesn't do us any good," Daniel Daianu further said.AGERPRES(RO - author: George Banciulea, editor: Andreea Marinescu; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Maria Voican)