Inconsistency between the budget deficit presented by the Government and that reported by the European Commission

Mr. Mircea Coşea pointed out: "The current government will not be able to reach the deficit it is promoting, at least in words. It is almost certain, the way things are going in the middle of this month, that we will not be able to end the year with a deficit of less than 6%, probably between 6 and 7%. Which, in my opinion, is very serious. (...)"

At the end of last year, our country recorded a budget deficit of 6.3% of the Gross Domestic Product, according to the latest consolidated report published yesterday by DG Ecfin, within the European Commission. Given that at the end of January 2024, the Ciolacu government reported through the Ministry of Finance that the deficit recorded on December 31, 2023 amounted to 5.68% of GDP, we practically have a correction from the European Commission that shows us a bigger budget loss by 0.62%, which in nominal terms means, according to the former president of FNGCIMM, Cristian Păun, approximately a budget deficit of 1.8 billion euros, that is, about 9 billion lei.

Regarding the inconsistency between the budget deficit reported by the Ciolacu government and the one found by the European Commission, Mr. Cristian Păun wrote on the official Facebook page: "The European Commission is giving us the deficit in the face. It was misreported. If not deliberately falsified, but here some of the "righteous" state must be notified, it is unlikely that they will do it. It was 0.6% higher. About 300 billion Euros, about 1.8 billion Euros, about 9 billion lei. A total nothingness, some would say. After all, it's damn excessive, it's also wrong. The peace here seems to have little to do with the European Union. Playing the tambourine with a blanket on it, with 4 hands, inspires neither confidence nor seriousness. It is increasingly likely, especially after this cheap trick, that the correction will be applied to the European funds, according to the excessive deficit procedure. We no longer have a valid road map, we haven't negotiated another one and, I'm over the moon, we were also caught with the cat in the bag, reporting a smaller deficit. I expect a correction on inflation as well. And there seem to be some problems there. And on many others... I don't expect resignations or stepping back. This peace is starting to have too high a price for us!".

In this context, the economic analyst Mircea Coşea stated, quoted by DC Media, that he hopes that the difference found by the European Commission is only a matter of methodology.

Mircea Coşea specified for the quoted source: If, God forbid, it is not about something like this, it means that we have started to regress and we risk ending up as we were some 30 or so years ago during communism when a "convenient" statistic was published . That is, a statistic that hides certain elements and promotes some figures that encourage, say, a better appreciation of the European Union compared to the current government. It would be very, very serious".

The economic analyst noted that even in 2024, the Government will not be able to reach the 5% budget deficit target negotiated with the European Commission and approved by the state budget law. Mr. Coşea pointed out: "The current government will not be able to reach the deficit it is promoting, at least in words. It is almost certain, the way things are going in the middle of this month, that we will not be able to end the year with a deficit of less than 6%, probably between 6 and 7%. Which, in my opinion, is very serious. (...) The policy of reducing expenses does not work, on the contrary, expenses increase faster than incomes. It is true that at the beginning of the year the collection was better, but this is a rule, it is not a novelty, it is not something that gives us hope. Some government structures have been set up with very high salaries, instead of reducing salaries and the most important thing is that you cannot reduce the deficit, only by reducing spending I think you risk some higher collections, some higher revenues at budget, but here the Government acts exactly the opposite, because the train ordinance reduces the ability of the business environment to provide a surplus of revenues to the budget".

His Highness criticized the electoral measures taken by the Government, stated that the increase in GDP is not representative of a real improvement in living conditions and emphasized the need for debt reduction and a long-term development plan for Romania. In his opinion, the lack of a clear vision of the future and the absence of coherent economic strategies are issues of concern for the country, especially in the context of an election year.