site.btaRomania Could Join Eurozone by 2035, Exit Excessive Deficit Procedure by 2030, Romanian Finance Minister Says

Romania could join the eurozone by 2035 and is capable of exiting the excessive deficit procedure by 2030, Romanian Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare said while participating in the Impact SEE international business and technology forum in Bucharest.

Nazare spoke about Romania’s current economic and financial model, highlighting several key areas and future prospects, including fiscal discipline and consolidation, the transition to an investment-driven economy, maximising the absorption of EU funds and attracting private capital.

He said that investments in August 2026 were EUR 25-26 billion higher, year-on-year, while the country had simultaneously managed to reduce its budget deficit. According to Nazare, this meant that investment had not been compromised in the effort to reduce the deficit, with the adjustment representing a substantive correction rather than merely an accounting exercise.

Looking at budget execution, Nazare said VAT revenue had increased by 25%, social security contributions by more than 7%, and corporate income tax revenue by EUR 2.5 billion. He said these results had enabled Romania to demonstrate to credit rating agencies over the summer that its fiscal adjustment was not merely a plan but a real, serious and credible process that had already begun to materialise.

The Minister recalled that Romanian authorities had adopted a recovery plan in February containing a series of support schemes, one of which was aimed at supporting industry.

Nazare said Romania was taking a new approach by planning to finance industries in which the country was experiencing trade-balance weaknesses. He said EUR 150 million would be redirected towards the production investments Romania needed, particularly in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and food processing.

He added that projects under the scheme could be submitted to the Ministry of Finance from October 15, with the selection process expected to take place one month later.

The  Impact SEE forum opened with a presentation by Bulgarian economist Ilian Mihov. The world-renowned economist and longtime dean of the prestigious INSEAD business school delivered a keynote address entitled “Europe at Crossroads: Growth, Rules and the Race for Relevance,” and later took part in a discussion panel on the new rules of competitiveness.