Romania’s state budget bill for the year 2020 will be passed by the lawmakers by December 31, deputy prime minister Raluca Turcan said in Botosani on Friday, November 29.

"We are preparing the budget for next year so that we stand by our commitments. The construction of highways is a priority,” Turcan said, quoted by local daily Adevarul.

The deputy PM Turcan also stressed that the current executive envisages a deficit of maximum 3.5% of GDP for next year.

Next year’s budget will show a fiscal consolidation of at least 1 percentage point [versus 4.4% of GDP this year], a very difficult thing to do, but which will be appreciated both by international markets and by the Fiscal Council and Romania’s National Bank, finance minister, Florin Cîţu, confirmed, Economica.net reported.

Regarding the comments made by Adrian Vasilescu, a strategy consultant with Romania’s National Bank (BNR), who said pensions and public wages should be frozen, Cîţu said that the Finance Ministry and Romania’s National Bank are two independent institutions.

He added that a mix of monetary and fiscal policies is needed, but such advice should not be given publicly.

(Photo: Raluca Turcan Facebook Page)

editor@romania-insider.com