FinMin Nazare: Budget measures taken this year - enough to secure adjustment strategy's approval

The budget measures taken this year are enough to secure the European Commission's nod of approval for the adjustment strategy presented in Brussels and the return of the deficit to 3 percent of GDP by 2024, Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare said on Monday at the launch of the Bucharest Stock Exchange - Envisia Boards of Elite partnership dedicated to capital market players. "I think some important effects appeared after the adoption of the budget. It was a prudent, robust budget that was designed in tight cooperation with the European Commission. Through discussions with the three Commissioners in charge of financial services we managed to build this dialogue even before the budget's approval. As a result, their reactions afterwards have been very good and these positive reactions paved the way for the approval of the Convergence Program and the approval by the Commission and the Council of all the documents related to Romania's budget and fiscal strategy and to the excessive deficit procedure. To sum it up in one statement, if we look at the Commission's forecast for the advance of Romania's economy and to our growth forecast and see that they overlap, as do our and the Commission's forecast for the 2021 deficit, this proves that the European Commission is confident that the measures we have taken this year, until and after the approval of the budget, are sufficient for the EC to approve the adjustment strategy we presented in Brussels and the return to a 3 percent deficit by 2024," said Nazare. He underscored however that this is a difficult process that requires unflinching budgetary discipline. Nazare also pointed out the upgrade by S&P of Romania's outlook from negative to stable as indicative of the fact that things are on the right track. "We are at a moment when most international financial institutions have upwardly adjusted their projections for Romania's economic growth. We started from 4.3 percent in February - which was considered far-fetched, if you remember there were opinions that 4.3 percent would be very much for the situation back then, considering the development of the pandemic over January-February. Yet after that the World Bank, the IMF and the Commission all reconsidered their forecast and upgraded it. We adjusted it upwards to 5 percent, and the Fund went even higher from 6 to 7 percent. It's an unprecedented situation where the international financial institutions have concomitantly revised their economic growth forecasts. Usually it was the other way round, the international financial institutions were pessimistic. Therefore I think that this cautious approach in assessing our growth and our situation takes us to an area of balance Romania very much needs," Nazare said. AGERPRES (RO - author: George Banciulea, editor: Nicoleta Gherasi; EN - author: Simona Klodnischi, editor: Simona Iacob)

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