Romania's economy may be ready to 'leave the hospital', but the recovery is not complete and the country's economic health must be closely monitored and 'treatment' continue, according to the European Commission (EC) Head of Unit for Finland, Bulgaria and Romania Joost Kuhlmann. The EC official's hospital patient analogy seems to have caught the attention of Romanian media, where he is widely quoted. The remarks came at an economic forum organized by Cofindustria, the Italian business association in Romania.

He identified revitalizing the economy as the biggest challenge facing Romania. According to Kuhlmann, the austerity measures taken over the last three to four years were hard but necessary, as the financial crisis exposed weaknesses in the Romanian economy and proved it was unsustainable. He warned Romania against being seduced by the dark side of unsustainable growth and uncontrolled salary and pension increases.

The EC official also said that foreign investment would be vital for Romania's long term growth and that the authorities must make sure that the country is an attractive, stable environment for investors. Joost Kuhlmann took a swipe at Romania's political class, saying that “unhealthy” links between government and state owned assets must be cut and that politicians should focus on the economy rather than political gamesmanship and partisan squabbles.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com

photo source: Joost Kuhlmann on Facebook