Ilie Bolojan: Romania’s Budget Improves, Despite High Inflation & Public Criticism

What Ilie Bolojan Posted on Facebook

Romania appears to be on a positive economic trajectory, according to Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, who stated, “The recovery measures we have taken so far are working. Budget revenues are increasing, and expenditures are decreasing.”

Bolojan detailed that in the third quarter, state budget revenues increased by 12.5% compared to the same period last year, rising from 79.2 billion lei to 89.1 billion lei – a gain of 9.9 billion lei. This update comes as economic indicators are closely watched across Europe.

“Income tax increased by 16.5%. VAT revenues increased by 14.8%. Excise revenues increased by 11%. Social contributions collected in the third quarter increased by 8.5%, or 4 billion lei more. Personnel expenses decreased in the July–September period by 630 million lei,” the Prime Minister added.

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Bolojan further noted that personnel expenses in October decreased by 562 million lei compared to the same month in 2024, falling from 14.231 billion lei to 13.6 billion lei. He contrasted this with the first half of the year, when personnel expenses increased by approximately 10% compared to the first half of 2024.

“Despite the difficulties, we have unlocked and renegotiated European funds through the PNRR program, accelerating payments in the second half of the year. Thus, payments of 2.62 billion euros were made in the January–June period, and 1.45 billion euros were paid in the July–September period,” Bolojan stated.

He also reported that, compared to when the government took office, the one-month ROBOR rate has decreased from 6.82% (June 23) to 5.81% today. Romania is also borrowing more cheaply on all maturities and in all currencies compared to July 1, reflecting increased market confidence in the measures taken and the stability of the economy.

How Romanians Responded to Ilie Bolojan

Responses to the Prime Minister’s Facebook post were largely critical, with many Romanians expressing dissatisfaction with the government’s measures. “It sounds good on paper, but the population is bearing the burden. The PSD and parts of the PNL are making sure to only fleece us, opposing pension reform. I hope that in the next elections, Romanians will know who brought them to this situation and vote accordingly!” one commenter wrote.

Another commenter stated, “There is still much work to be done to reduce spending. For now, only the population is bearing the brunt.”

One individual argued that Bolojan had delivered “the harshest blow to the middle class in the last 30 years” with recent parliamentary actions.

“Mr. Bolojan, you campaigned on the slogan ‘cut waste, not from the pockets of Romanians.’ Yesterday, you cut directly from the pockets of millions of Romanians who work on their own account or in the private sector. 2026 will be the year when: IT specialists will massively leave for the Netherlands, Germany or remote work for foreign companies; private doctors will close their practices; small entrepreneurs will go back to operating off the books or close their businesses. Congratulations! You managed to do in 5 months what Dragnea, Cîțu, or Ciolacu failed to do in years: convince an entire generation that honest and qualified work no longer makes sense in Romania.”

Romania Remains Inflation Leader, Eurostat Reports

Data released Wednesday by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) shows that Romania continues to have the highest inflation rate in the European Union, with the annual growth of prices reaching 8.4% according to the presented data.

This means that prices in Romania increased by 8.4% annually in October, while the average inflation rate at the EU level fell to 2.5%.

According to previously published data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS), the annual inflation rate in Romania was 9.8% in October 2025, with non-food goods becoming 10.96% more expensive, services increasing by 10.52%, and food goods rising by 7.57%.