Calea Europeană, the main media platform in the field of European affairs in Romania, in partnership with the Foreign Investors Council, Concordia Employers’ Confederation, Romanian Business Leaders, AmCham Romania, the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Romania (CCIFER) and AHK Romania, flagship organizations in Romania’s economic development, are to organize the conference "Romania and OECD - The Main Country Project after NATO, EU and Schengen". The event will take place under the High Patronage of the Interim President of Romania and will be hosted by the Presidential Administration, at the Cotroceni Palace, on 2 April 2025, at 11:00. The event will bring together high-level national and international officials, business sector representatives, experts and decision-makers to discuss the way forward in order to finalize Romania’s accession to the OECD, which is an essential process.
The European Business Women’s Association (PEFA) organized the third edition of the conference "Economic Trends 2025", at NBR Arenas, on 31 March. The event was dedicated to the economic and geopolitical transformations that mark the year 2025. The conference was held under the aegis of the National Bank of Romania (NBR) and included three thematic panels, centered on macroeconomics, business and energy, with the participation of officials, entrepreneurs, economists and leaders of major companies in Romania.
The share of Romania’s so-called shadow economy has decreased considerably over the past two decades and reached 13.1% of the Gross Domestic Product in 2023, according to a study recently published by a consultancy firm. The EY research analyzed 131 countries over a 23-year period (2000-2023), 119 of which made remarkable progress in reducing the share of the underground economy, especially in the past five years, i.e. by nearly 6.7% of GDP. The study data show that the share of the informal economy in total global GDP stood at 11.8% in 2023 (or 19.8%, the arithmetic mean of estimates for individual countries).
Economist Adrian Negrescu believes that Romanians’ pensions will most definitely not increase in 2025 and most probably not even in 2026. The government is to blame for this, as it is spending too much money. If the deficit reached 1.58% of GDP in the first two months of 2025, Romania risks reaching a deficit of over 10% by the end of 2025, despite the promises made by the Minister of Finance. Adrian Negrescu fears Romania will have to borrow money from the International Monetary Fund to pay pensions.
Gorj County Council president Cosmin Popescu has announced that the graphite mine in Baia de Fier will be reopened following a EUR 200 million investment. The European Commission approved the financing for the exploitation of graphite in Baia de Fier amid growing global demand for graphite, a mineral used in electric vehicle batteries. The estimated annual production of 15,000 tons of graphite will bring Romania up to the level of Norway, the only other European country that can exploit graphite on an industrial scale.
Cosmin Marinescu, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Romania (NBR), has stated that Romania is going through a period full of both challenges and opportunities. Technology is profoundly rewriting the rules of the game and global chains are being brutally reconfigured amid aggressive protectionist trade measures. It is essential for the business sector in Romania to affirm its openness towards adapting to the new challenges. Economic growth was below expectations in 2024, at just 0.9%. Moreover, the budget deficit exceeded 8.6% of GDP and remains one of Romania’s most pressing economic problems or even its biggest economic policy challenge. In parallel, the current account deficit grew by nearly 2% of GDP, which points to public policies that are at odds with macroeconomic sustainability criteria.
Vista Bank has concluded an agreement with Eurobank SA (Greece) for the management of the loan portfolio of Eurobank SA’s former subsidiary in Romania (Bancpost) as of 31 March 2025. The portfolio includes more than 8,000 individual and SME clients with a total exposure of over EUR 500 million. PWC and David & Baias provided financial and legal consultancy. Vista Bank has been present on the Romanian banking market since 1998, has a network of 35 branches and 5 Business Centers and offers a full range of products and services to local and international clients.
Romania finally has an Investment and Development Bank (IDB) after nearly a decade of discussions and six governments. IDB, which was officially launched last week in the presence of the bank’s management team, heads of commercial banks, political decision-makers and the head of the European Commission’s Representation in Romania, Ramona Chiriac, is emerging as a new player on the Romanian financial market, a player 100% owned by the Romanian state, joining the two existing commercial banks where the Romanian state is the main shareholder, namely CEC Bank and Exim Banca Românească.
Eugen Bunea has joined Exim Banca Românească’s executive management and is to start his activity as Executive Vice President Back-office following his nomination by the bank’s Board of Directors and authorization by the National Bank of Romania (NBR). Eugen Bunea, who will coordinate the Operations Division, the IT Division and the Bank Resolution and Recovery Department, has been part of the EximBank/Exim Banca Românească team since 2019, when he took over the position of Executive Director of the IT Division.
MedLife, the leader of the private healthcare services market in Romania, has announced the launch of the first Artificial Intelligence-based assistant, which analyzes patients’ medical history, including clinical tests and results, to provide a detailed summary of their health status. One of the most important aspects of this solution is the protection of patient data. The AI assistant only analyzes medical data that have been anonymized in advance, complying with the principles of data privacy protection.
AROBS Transilvania Software (BSE: AROBS), a local technology company listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE), estimates a RON 460 million consolidated turnover, a RON 73 million EBITDA and RON 37 million net profit for 2025. The company maintains its long-term strategic directions, focusing on innovation and operational efficiency, both locally and internationally. AROBS invests in advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data, to improve competitiveness and optimize the solutions offered to clients.
Agricover Holding SA, a company activating in the local agricultural sector, recorded a significant increase in its consolidated operating profit in 2024, which amounted to RON 92.4 million, up 66.5% year-on-year. In 2025, Agricover plans to continue investing in innovation and sustainable expansion. The company will expand financial and digital services to support farmers, will maintain a prudent risk management strategy, and will optimize its capital structure to support future growth.
On Monday, 31 March, the Federation of Associations of Romanians in Europe (FADERE) announced that the Romanian Government had issued an Emergency Ordinance under which Romanian citizens living abroad would be able to obtain identity cards, and called on Romanian institutions to allow such identity documents and electronic passports to be issued within consulates. According to FADERE, the decision is a crucial step in eliminating an injustice that has affected more than one million Romanians living abroad, who have faced many obstacles, from banks refusing to open accounts on the grounds that the passport is only a travel document, to not being able to conclude real estate transactions because notaries refused to recognize the passport as an identity document.
Fines that can be imposed onto residents in blocks of flats will double, according to a draft law that passed the Senate and is currently being debated in the Chamber of Deputies. The measure targets those who throw parties in apartments or listen to loud music and disturb public peace. Sanctions can reach RON 12,000. Community service can also be ordered if necessary. Once the draft normative act has been approved and promulgated, the new regulations will enter into force 30 days after their publishing in the Official Gazette of Romania.
A Paris court convicted the French far-right leader of misusing EU funds to pay staff from her national party, handing her an immediate five-year ineligibility sentence. Marine Le Pen was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, two of which were suspended, and two years’ imprisonment to be served at her home with an electronic tag. She was also fined EUR 100,000. Le Pen was found guilty of siphoning EUR 474,000 for hiring four fictitious assistants when she was an MEP (2004-2017), who worked for her national party, Rassemblement National, instead.
The value of nursery vouchers will grow by RON 10 starting from 1 April 2025. The latest increment was recorded on 1 October 2024, when the value increased by RON 20. Nursery vouchers are value vouchers that are granted on a monthly basis to employees who do not benefit from the leave and allowance granted for raising a child up to 2 years of age, or up to 3 years of age in the case of children with disabilities.
Ministry of Education and Research released the results of the National Assessment mock exam on Monday, 31 March. About 40% of pupils failed to get a grade above 5 in the Romanian Language and Literature test. Moreover, 71% of those who took the Mathematics test obtained grades equal to or higher than 5. The results will be analyzed at the level of each educational unit through discussions with students, meetings with parents, as well as at the level of teachers’ councils, in order to adopt appropriate measures for each situation, with the aim of improving school performance.
Voluntary pension funds had RON 5.81 billion assets at the end of February 2025, up 19% year-on-year, according to a report drawn up by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF). The report shows that most investments were made on the local market (96%), the majority being RON-denominated (89%). Transferred contributions reached RON 69.6 million in February, and the average contribution per participant was RON 165. In terms of asset structure, government securities held the largest share, with RON 3.83 billion, or 66.1% of the total, followed by shares, with RON 1.46 billion (25.2%) and corporate bonds, with RON 214.75 million (3.7% of total assets).