The Foreign Investors Council (FIC) has organized an event dedicated to the energy transition, providing a platform for strategic dialogue between decision makers and representatives of the economic sector. The event brought together investors, as well as Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja, Minister of Environment, Water and Forests, Mircea Fechet, the chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Energy, Istvan-Lorant Antal, the chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Environment, Aurel Varga, and the Vice President of the Romanian National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), Mircea Man. FIC companies from the entire supply chain in the energy sector, producers, suppliers, distributors, large consumers and financial institutions participated in the discussions, with the common aim of proposing strategic directions for the development of the energy sector and, implicitly, of the Romanian economy.
Economist Adrian Negrescu has stated that the situation of the budget deficit, which reached 2.3% in the first three months of 2025, is alarming for Romania and has warned that if spending continues at this rate, the country risks losing its credibility completely among investors. According to the economic analyst, in this extreme case, an agreement with the IMF is the only safety net, which thus becomes the lesser evil in a situation where the lack of appetite for reforms is increasingly evident.
Ministry of Finance has announced that Romania is reaffirming its commitment to stay within a deficit of 7% of GDP in 2025 and to maintain this trajectory in the following years, as established in the National Medium-Term Budget-Structural Plan agreed with the European Commission. The Ministry has indicated that Romania’s budget deficit calculated according to the national cash methodology stood at 8.65% of GDP, or RON 152.72 billion, in 2024, while the ESA budget deficit, according to official Eurostat data, was 9.3% of GDP at the end of 2024.
A Finance Ministry delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tanczos Barna, is participating in the Spring Meetings organized by the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C., this week. The event annually brings together finance ministers, central bank governors, economic leaders and representatives of global financial institutions, providing a strategic framework for debates on global economic and financial challenges. The World Bank’s Spring Meetings are considered a barometer of where the world economy is heading and play a key role in shaping global policies for development and financial stability.
The Deloitte Real Estate Confidence Survey for Central Europe 2025 shows that Romania tops the list in terms of investor pessimism. Nearly half of Romanian respondents anticipate a decrease in the volume of transactions and only one in four expects an increase in the value of investments. The research illustrates the sharp contrast with Poland and the Czech Republic, where the majority of respondents have a more positive outlook. In Romania, 60% of respondents believe the economic environment will deteriorate, while only 14% think it will improve.
Provident Financial Romania, part of the British group International Personal Finance (IPF), has announced Laurențiu Mărcuș’s appointment as Sales Director. He will coordinate the expansion of sales channels, as the company aims to increase its lending volume by more than 10% in 2025 and is preparing the launch of a credit card. Provident has around 180,000 active clients in Romania, almost half of them living in villages and small communes.
Premier Energy (PE), a natural gas and electricity supplier and distributor listed on Bucharest Stock Exchange with a RON 2.3 billion capitalization, has announced that pension funds managed by NN have reached a holding of 10.7%, compared to the previously reported one, of 5.92%. The 10% ownership threshold was exceeded on 17 April when transactions worth about RON 73 million with Premier Energy shares were processed in the Stock Exchange’s system. This means RON 230 million investments for NN funds, including Pension Pillar 2.
During the latest meeting of the Board of Directors, according to the published minutes, the National Bank of Romania (NBR) seemed to warn the market that the stability of the currency exchange rate, currently at RON 4.97/EUR 1, may be coming to an end. Significant volumes of foreign currency have entered the market over the past five years, from European funds, from foreign currency-denominated loans contracted by the government, from remittances of Romanians working abroad, from external services of all kinds etc., and this has also allowed the National Bank to increase its foreign currency reserves by more than EUR 12 billion.
Entrepreneurs Dragoș and Adrian Pavăl, the owners of Dedeman, are buying the Ethos House office building in Floreasca area of Bucharest from Greek businessman Anastasios Gkotsis, within a transaction estimated at EUR 24-25 million. Companies such as Arval, BNP Paribas Cardif, Forte Partners, Crosspoint Real Estate and the French Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Romania are among the tenants of the building. Ethos House office building has a leasable area of about 8,000 square meters distributed on the ground floor and seven floors above the ground.
The company Ebm-papst Automotive & Drives Romania, present on the Romanian market since 2017, with a factory in Oradea, and part of the German group Ebm-papst, world leader in the production of electric motors and fans, is betting on further investments locally. On 29 April, the company will start construction works on the new Ebm-papst building in Oradea to be developed in Industrial Park II. Through this EUR 30 million investment, the company aims to extend the production of smart fans and develop the research and development department within the Service Center opened in Oradea.
The marketplace is becoming an increasingly important growth engine for evomag, and is already generating around 15% of the company’s total sales. The share of this channel is constantly growing, above the market average, and the company is counting on this model to accelerate its expansion both nationally and internationally. For 2025, evoMAG estimates a further increase of at least 10% in sales through this segment.
DVI Production, owner of the FORTEM brand, a manufacturer of linear masonry elements, is to open a new factory in Iernut, Mures County, which will have the largest production capacity in Europe and will supply a BCA model using latest generation technology. The Fortem factory in Iernut, a 100% Romanian greenfield investment of about EUR 40 million, aims to redefine construction standards and contribute to the development of the local and national economy.
The draft law increasing magistrates’ retirement age to 65 was adopted during the Chamber of Deputies’ plenary session on Wednesday, 23 April, with 259 votes in favor, one vote against and 25 abstentions. Moreover, the calculation basis will be similar to that of the military and employees in the public order and national security system. The Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) pointed out, in a press release, that the changes envisaged by the draft normative act were in obvious contradiction with both the principle of judicial independence and other constitutional principles, such as those related to the predictability of the regulatory framework, the protection of beneficiaries’ legitimate expectations, equality of rights and non-discrimination.
On Wednesday, 23 April, the Chamber of Deputies adopted the draft law approving Government Ordinance 9/2025 which regulates the forms of organization, establishment, operation and control of medical practices. There were 220 votes in favor of the normative act, two votes against and 75 abstentions. Among other things, the MPs introduced several amendments to the provisions of the ordinance concerning the possibility of setting up medical practices in public social assistance institutions, educational establishments, and within legal entities for their own employees, as well as within internal prevention and protection services. The Chamber of Deputies is the decision-making body for this normative act.
Greece’s conservative government is preparing a bill to ban all flavored alternative tobacco products – sparing only natural tobacco and mint, Euractiv has learnt. Athens has generally opposed both stricter rules for alternative tobacco products and calls to treat them like traditional cigarettes. But the political case for tougher action is growing. The ban is part of a bill aiming to make it stricter for minors to access alcohol and tobacco products, following incidents of teenagers fainting in a nightclub after consuming excessive alcohol.
Development Minister Cseke Attila announced on Wednesday, 23 April 23, that the Ministry of Development would allocate RON 39,679,401.38 for the seismic strengthening of four educational establishments. Thus, the Ministry is allocating nearly RON 26 million for the students’ canteen at "Gheorghe Asachi" Technical High-School in Iasi and almost RON 7 million for kindergarten no. 1 in Beciu, Teleorman County, through the National Investment Program "Safe and Healthy Schools". Moreover, nearly RON 3 million and over RON 4 million respectively will be allocated for the seismic strengthening and thermal rehabilitation of the secondary schools in Magura (Olt County) and Bogata, (Suceava County) through the National Program for the Strengthening of Buildings with High Seismic Risk.
The unemployment rate in Arad County reached 1.91% in March, its highest level in eight years, except for a few months during the pandemic period (2021), while the number of vacant jobs is decreasing. The unemployment rate had stood at 1.86% in February 2025 and at 1.82% in January 2025. The increase had started in 2024 from an unemployment rate of 1.1%, one of the lowest in the country. Unemployment rate in the county could grow further, as Greenbrier Romania recently announced that it would cease production operations at the freight wagon factory in the city of Arad and would lay-off 699 out of a total of 777 employees.
Ministry of Labor, Family, Youth and Social Solidarity has announced that all the sums corresponding to social rights will be paid on time in May. Thus, children’s allowances, child-raising allowances, insertion incentives and foster care allowances will reach beneficiaries on 8 May, in the case of those who receive the sums in bank accounts, and starting from May 13 in the case of sums delivered through postal money order. Payments are made through the National Agency for Social Inspection and Payments.