Romania’s New Finance Minister Sounds the Alarm: “It’s Time to Face the Truth”

Just one week into his new term, Romania’s Finance Minister, Alexandru Nazare, delivers a blunt reality check on the country’s fiscal health and urges a complete reset of economic priorities.

Romania’s new Minister of Finance wasted no time in addressing the nation’s precarious economic reality. In a public message marking his first week back in office, the Minister compared today’s financial climate to what he encountered during his previous term five years ago — and his conclusion was unequivocal: Romania is in a far more fragile position now.

“We’ve inherited a vulnerable economy and an increasingly unstable budgetary foundation,” he wrote. “For years, we were told Romania was growing. But that growth was largely an illusion — pushed forward by consumption, not by real development.”

The Minister’s central point is that Romania has been living beyond its means. Budgets were built on overly optimistic revenue forecasts and deeply underestimated spending. This mismatch has created a long-standing cycle of structural deficits that remain unresolved.

A Pattern of Borrowed Spending

One of the strongest messages from the new Finance Minister was the warning about the unsustainable use of debt.

“We weren’t spending our money. We were spending borrowed money — and expensive money at that.”

According to the Minister, Romania’s budget deficit has consistently exceeded 6% of GDP over the past five years, with peaks reaching over 9%. This is well above the European Union’s recommended limit of 3%. The result? Skyrocketing interest rates, weakened trust from international lenders, and a doubling of public debt.

The Minister emphasised that the country has now reached a breaking point, where it must choose between continuing a reckless path or resetting its fiscal model entirely.

The government’s immediate priority, he said, is rebuilding the state budget on realistic and sustainable foundations. That starts by answering two core questions:
– What can we collect fairly and efficiently?
– How much can we realistically afford to spend?

“It’s time to stop pretending. This is the moment of truth — and the moment of responsibility.”

From Illusion to Reform

More than a critique, the Minister’s message serves as a call to action. Romania must abandon the illusion of unlimited resources and begin investing in what he calls “healthy money” — revenues generated from within, not borrowed from abroad.

He advocates for a long-overdue shift: from a consumption-based economy to one grounded in productivity, innovation, and resilience.

“We’ve acted like resources are infinite. But they’re not. Romania must build a viable, self-sustaining economy — or risk falling further behind.”

Romania’s Minister of Finance