"JCR's announcement is encouraging and demonstrates once again that the necessary measures adopted in 2025 to balance public finances and reduce the budget deficit are in line with our country's medium-term commitments," said Alexandru Nazare (in picture), Minister of Finance. The agency's statement also represents a message of confidence for Japanese investors, as Romania intends to be a frequent issuer on Japan's Samurai bond market for investment base diversification.

In its report, JCR highlights the success of fiscal packages implemented in 2025, which put the deficit on a downward trajectory. The government deficit decreased from 8.7% in 2024 to 7.7% in 2025. For 2026, measures including dividend taxation, salary expenditure control and social benefit freezes are estimated to reduce the deficit to 6.2% of GDP. Although public debt reached 59.6% of GDP at the end of 2025, JCR estimates it will stabilise as the deficit decreases, remaining at a relatively low level compared to other similarly rated countries.

JCR notes that while economic growth slowed to 0.7% in 2025 due to inflation and private consumption contraction, a recovery to 1% is anticipated in 2026. This dynamic will be supported by increased capital investments financed through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), which reaches maturity this year, and improved net exports due to declining imports.

The agency monitors steady progress in meeting numerous milestones related to structural reforms necessary for receiving RRF grants. This process is considered vital for the gradual recovery of private consumption and economic growth returning to the 2% threshold in the medium term, once the effects of fiscal adjustment measures are fully absorbed by the economy.