Romanian Economy – ‘shy advance’

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has raised Romania’s economic growth forecast for this year from 1.1, the forecast from January, to 1.8 percent.
The financial institution estimates that the austerity measures adopted by the Romanian authorities will keep the budget deficit under control, but the economy will advance slowly, below the average from Southern-Eastern or Central Europe.

The data published by the EBRD on Friday are slightly more optimistic than the forecast from the International Monetary Fund or the European Commission that anticipated a 1.5 percent economic growth.

The EBRD is anticipating a 2.2 percent economic growth in Southern-Eastern Europe, more than the 1.9 forecast in January.

In Central and Eastern Europe the EBRD is anticipating a 4.6 percent growth, mostly due to Turkey, Russia and Central Europe.

However, the Bank has warned that the crisis from the Euro Zone and the price rise for goods are threats to the economic recovery.

For 2012, the EBRD is anticipating that the GDP is going to rise by 3.8 percent, about the same as the forecast from the IMF or the EC.

The EBRD was set up at the end of the Cold War in order to aid former communist countries to make the transition to market economy. The Bank is financing projects in almost 30 countries.

Translated by: Gabriela Lungu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University