President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday said he was encouraged by signs of economic recovery in Romania as the the number of Covid-19 cases subsides and the country slowly emerges out of pandemic restrictions.
In a message delivered at the Franco-Romanian Economic Forum in Bucharest, the Romanian president noted that the previous year was “a period in which all world economies faced an unprecedented crisis.
Health crisis
“ The health crisis “posed new challenges, stressed the need for global stability and stressed the importance of resilience of public systems and the economy “, he said in a message delivered by an adviser.
The vaccine rollout across Europe which began at the end of 2020 had eased the pandemic with business and social events slowly getting back on their feet, he noted.
Gross domestic product
Economic forecasts show that many EU countries will see their gross domestic product return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year, he said.
“For Romania, 2021 offers the most encouraging signals,” he said. “Our country, together with France, is at the top of the estimated economic growth in the European Union „. His message was read out by presidential adviser Cosmin Marinescu.
France ranks 6th among the foreign investors in Romania. There are almost 10,000 companies with French capital on the Romanian market, according to the Romanian National Trade Registry.
IMF
The International Monetary Fund in May predicted Romania’s national output would rebound by 7% this year, a stronger-than-expected economic recovery.
The revised figure comes after an initial forecast was 6% and the predicted recovery will help the fiscal outlook. The Fund advised the government to resume structural and governance reforms to strengthen the economy.
The improved economic output is partly fueled by a better than harvest than expected, the IMF said.
Risks
There are risks, notably unexpected adverse shifts in the evolution of the pandemic. That could include new virus strains, shorter vaccine effectiveness, or vaccine hesitancy, the Fund noted.
France’s economy will expand 5.5% in 2021, and 4% in 2022, according to a prediction made by FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists. The organization is a group of world economists.
Pandemic
However, the president also stressed that the pandemic had put enormous pressure on state resources, including funds to support the private sector.
„Responsibility and perseverance in the consolidating the tax system and recovery effort become paramount to a return to sustainability ”.
Turning point
„Today we are at a turning point for our economic future. A French proverb says that ‘There is no point in running, you have to leave on time’.
“For Romania, that ‘time’ is this year “, he said. The government will start “reconstruction” through reforms and substantial investments.
“We want Romania to fully exploit the opportunities we have access to, by capitalizing on an unprecedented volume of European funds.”
EU Recovery Fund
Romania has requested 14.3 billion euros in grants and 15 billion euros in loans and grants from the EU Recovery Fund.
The EU’s long-term budget, coupled with NextGenerationEU,is a temporary instrument designed to boost the recovery. It will be the largest stimulus package ever financed in Europe.
IMF forecasts economic recovery in Romania, calls for structural reforms to strengthen economy
