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Romania Insider Monthly Wrap-up November: The storm has passed... for now

08 December 2021

Andrei Chirileasa

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Our monthly overview newsletter for Romania Insider members brings you the main topics of the month, to make sure you don't miss the bigger picture, no matter how often you choose to read the news. If you choose to stay away from much of the media frenzy, this monthly bulletin brings the essentials without wasting a lot of time, in a basic visual version, so you can focus on the text alone.

Romania started November with a record number of daily COVID-19 related deaths and no government. By the end of the month, the number of new infection cases dropped significantly and the pandemic’s fourth wave seems to have passed, just in time for Omicron. Meanwhile, the Liberals joined forces with their former arch-rivals, the Social Democrats, to form a new ruling coalition and a new Government led by former general Nicolae Ciuca.

(Opening photo: First meeting of the new PSD-PNL-UDMR Government led by former general Nicolae Ciuca / Photo source: Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea)

The storm seems to have passed for now and the Romanians are preparing for some relaxed winter holidays. The new Government, in which the Social Democrats hold the health minister position, doesn’t seem keen to tighten restrictions and Romania is one of the few EU countries where Christmas Markets have opened for visitors this year. However, the still low vaccination rate in Romania leaves the country exposed to the pandemic’s fifth wave – the Omicron wave.

Behind the relative calm, clouds are starting to gather once again. The new ruling coalition between two parties that have fiercely attacked each other over the last two years is not likely to run smoothly. Although they are now partners with the Liberals, the Social Democrats haven’t refrained from criticizing them for the way they have managed the country’s affairs in the last year. Moreover, PSD has also advocated for removing the flat tax (PNL’s most important legacy), for increasing social benefits and for renegotiating the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) already agreed with the European Commission.

The local economy is also feeling the pressure. Subdued recovery in Western Europe and rising inflation are likely to also put a brake on Romania’s GDP growth. The central bank increased the monetary policy rate once again in November (to 1.75%) as the annual inflation climbed to 8% in October.

Energy continues to hold the spotlight in terms of investments and new projects. Meanwhile, more and more local companies from all sectors turn to the Bucharest Stock Exchange for financing and the size of equity and bond placements has increased. Several Romanian companies have even started to raise money from the local capital market to expand abroad.

In the banking sector, the top news in November came from Raiffeisen Bank, which announced who will replace its Dutch CEO Steven van Groningen, who steps down after 20 years.

November also came with some good news for music fans: several big festivals in Romania have announced they plan to return with new editions next year.

Below, you can browse through the most important topics in November, grouped by relevance. By clicking on a title, you can read the whole article on the Romania-Insider.com website.