A former prime minister challenges the Ministry of Finance’s explanations regarding the budget deficit: ”They are trying to mislead public opinion”

Former Prime Minister Florin Cîțu warns of the deterioration of Romania’s budget deficit in the second quarter of 2026 and disputes the way the Ministry of Finance interprets the data. According to the Eurostat figures he cited, the deficit increased from 5.5% to 9.2% of quarterly GDP, on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Cîțu argues that the 3.7-percentage-point increase represents a significant deterioration and is larger than any quarterly increase recorded in 2024. The second-quarter deficit is also above the 7.7% level recorded during the same period in 2025.

The former prime minister rejects the comparison with the 3.4% deficit presented by the Ministry of Finance for the first six months. He says that the two figures are calculated differently: 9.2% represents the deficit for a single quarter, seasonally adjusted and reported as a share of quarterly GDP, while 3.4% is the cumulative deficit, not seasonally adjusted, reported as a share of annual GDP.

To achieve the ESA target of 6% of GDP, Cîțu estimates that in the second half of the year there would be room for a deficit of no more than 2.6%. He recalls that the deficit in the second half of the year was 4.2% in 2025 and 5.5% in 2024, and calls on the Government to explain, using concrete data, how it will make the adjustment without further affecting the economy.

Read also PNL calls on PSD to withdraw the statement regarding the budget deficit and present the Eurostat data correctly