23:08
He said the excessive deficit was “yet another present the social democrats left for Romania”. Citu added the country’s budget deficit is set to return below the EU limit of 3% of GDP in 2022.
Romania posted a budget deficit of 4.6% of GDP in 2019. The former social-democrat government had targeted a deficit of 2.76% which it planned to reach by postponing payments such as medical leaves or VAT refunds.
The liberal government, which took over in November, decided not to push those payments into 2020 and the deficit ballooned to 4.6% of GDP. Romania’s 2020 state budget is built on a deficit target of 3.6% of GDP, still above the EU limit.