Prime Minister Mihai Tudose said Sunday evening, during a talk-show with a private broadcaster, that the budget deficit of 3.2% of the GDP at mid-2017 means a deficit below 3% at the end of the year.
Tudose also said that voices from the opposition that claim there is no money to pay the pensions and wages show irresponsibility.
“The first half is always the worse than the last one. It starts with winter, when nothing moves; the 3.2% deficit in H1, the worst, is proof of our positive thinking and commitment to not exceed 3%, I can say that it will be just below 3%. There are voices in Romania that quote Eurostat as saying it is 3.2 percent. I got it, so what? I am telling you that 3.2 percent at the middle of the year means less than 3% at the end of the year because projects are now starting to move, money goes into the economy for big projects. European money has come, which was not the case in the first half of the year, so these are a few arguments,” Tudose said for Antena 3 TV.
“Certain measures of economic and financial discipline will definitely offset the budget and keep the deficit at 3%. This means more intensive, more assiduous work carried out by the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF), on financial discipline, and in fact it was also about putting into practice big investment problems,” the Premier said.
PM Mihai Tudose also expressed confidence that the budget rectification expected in August will be mainly positive.