Romania Government Roundtable

Press Release
Highlights of Economist Impact’s Romania Government Roundtable
Bucharest, March 30th, March 31st, April 1st, 2026

A landmark event: This inaugural Romania Government Roundtable was notable for the high-level participation of politicians and business representatives and for the large number of attendees over the three-day event. The speakers included presidents (Romania, Moldova), prime ministers (Romania, Moldova, Albania), government ministers (Romania, Moldova, Greece, Bulgaria, Albania), central bank governors (Romania, Greece, Moldova), former prime ministers and foreign ministers (Greece, Italy, Moldova, Turkey), EU and NATO officials, Ambassadors from the US and Europe and a top-class collection of other speakers and interlocutors, from Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglou to EU rapporteur Enrico Letta. The discussions ranged from geopolitics, energy security, defence and the future of democracy to fiscal and monetary policy, energy, health, technology and AI, banking and finance, investment, global capital flows, and PPPs.

Romania, past, present, and future: Opening the event at the historic Romanian Athenaeum, the President of Romania, Nicusor Dan, spoke of the country’s resilience as a strength. Taking the long view over the past century, Romania’s development since 1990 must be regarded as “a great success story”, said the president. He noted that Romania’s GDP at PPP had risen from about 26% in 2000 to an estimated 78% in 2024. In terms of future challenges, the president referred to Nobel Laureate and guest speaker Daron Acemoglou’s work on institutional reform being a foundation of prosperity and growth and acknowledged that Romania had work to do in this regard. He said that Romania supported the completion by 2028 of the EU single market union in financial services, energy, and digital connectivity to boost the competitiveness of the bloc, as proposed by Enrico Letta’s report of 2024.

A special relationship: In a video address, the president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, underlined the importance for her country of strengthening relations with Romania and other European partners at a time of pronounced global turbulence. Referring to the challenges Moldova has faced in recent years, President Sandu said that Russia’s attempts to destabilise Moldova had failed and Moldova has proved resilient. Romania has been a staunch ally and bilateral ties have deepened as the two countries integrate their energy systems and forge new economic partnerships.

Several themes emerged from the three-day Government Roundtable. These were the challenges presented by the latest global crisis occasioned by the Iran war, following so soon after those triggered by the covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Romania also suffered its own political and economic crisis in 2024-25 and is still dealing with the consequences of previous political and economic misgovernance. The commitment of Romanian policymakers to adhere to the fiscal consolidation agenda while protecting people from the consequences of the latest external shock was a recurring message. Romania’s economic convergence with the EU, second only to that of Poland, is a testament to the country’s resilience and dynamism, such that it is on the verge of joining the OECD in 2026. Ensuring that Romania maintains competitiveness amid major geopolitical, geo-economic and technological shifts was the focus of many of the discussions at the Roundtable. The old growth model that has served the country well is no longer viable as the basis for future prosperity. Despite the political and economic challenges facing Romania, the mood of the Roundtable was notably positive about the country’s prospects.

The Roundtable took place one month into the Iran war, which has caused a major energy shock that will have long-term repercussions for inflation and growth, posing difficult policy choices for governments and central banks. The war will compound the economic and political challenges confronting the Romanian government, which is implementing an austerity programme to reduce the country’s large fiscal and external deficits. The central bank governors of Romania and Greece, Mugur Isarescu and Yannis Stournaras, addressed the economic repercussions of war in the Gulf in keynote speeches. Governor Isarescu said that central bankers cannot prevent volatility arising from external shocks, rather their job is to maintain stability. “Passivity is not an option when crises hit,” said the governor, “proactive policies are required.” Mr Isarescu emphasised the importance of coordination between monetary and fiscal policies, saying that the challenge was controlling inflation without stifling growth. Mr Stournaras warned that the economic fallout from the Gulf War would be significant and protracted even if the conflict were to end soon. Nevertheless, Europe could meet the challenge from a good starting point, given the inflation had been moving within the 2% target range for a year, an impressive achievement in the context of Europe’s fragmented market.

Professor Daron Acemoglou focused on the challenges facing liberal democracy in his address to the Athenaeum audience. He said that liberal democracy was no longer delivering on its promises, in part because of the growth slowdown in the mature Western economies after the end of the postwar boom. Also, the rise of automation transformed manufacturing, employment, wages, education, and changed the face of inequality over several decades. It decimated traditional communities and created new social and political divides. Professor Acemoglou’s forthcoming book suggests how liberal democracy can start delivering again.

Enrico Letta, EU rapporteur on the future of the single market and president of the Jacques Delors Institute, addressed Europe’s competitiveness problems and how they can be resolved. Mr Letta’s central message was that “if we are not integrated, we have no chance”. Only completion of the single market union, in financial, energy and digital, can provide Europe with the scale that is necessary for investment in defence, energy, tech and more. By contrast, a fragmented Europe has no chance of being competitive in the new geo-economic global order.

Overcoming fragmentation in politics, defence, security, and energy were major themes of the Roundtable. Prime Minister of Romania Ilie Bolojan highlighted Romania’s strategic position on the eastern frontier of Europe and urged the EU to strengthen it by continuing eastwards enlargement and investing in energy corridors. He argued that defence, security and economic development are inseparable and that the enlargement of the EU to the western Balkans and Moldova would contribute to the security and economic weight of Europe. The prime minister said that the challenge for his government is to address the lack of good governance, deliver stability and growth and increase the living standards of its citizens. The prime minister of Moldova, Alexandru Munteanu, concurred with Mr Bolojan and said that his country was “walking the walk and not just talking the talk” when it comes to EU membership.


In partnership with RCI Holding
Founding sponsor: Banca Transilvania
Platinum sponsors: Iron Mountain, PPC, Therme Group
Gold sponsors: Banca Comercială Română (BCR), Concelex, AKTOR Group of Companies, Construcții Erbașu, SUNEL Group
Silver sponsors: E.ON Romania, CCN Holding, Distributie Oltenia, part of the Evryo Group, ENGIE Romania, Eversheds Sutherland, Groupama, Regina Maria, UniCredit Bank, Kiriarchos Net, ADREM, CBRE Romania, Eximprod Group, Hill International, ING Bank Romania, TITAN Group
Silver partners: Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), Hidroelectrica, JA Solar, Nuclearelectrica (SNN), Piraeus Bank, Hagag Energy
Bronze sponsors: AVAX Group, Black Sea Oil & Gas, Enexus, Garanti BBVA, Ijdelea & Associates, Nurol Construction and Trading, RedPoint Software Solutions, Renovatio
Contributors: Exim Banca Românească, Romgaz, Electrica
Media partners: Profit.ro, News.ro, HotNews.ro, Cotidianul.ro, Prima News, Energynomics, RFI Romania
Supporting organisations: AHK Romania, Romanian Portuguese Chamber of Commerce (CCIBRP), French-Romanian Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (CCIFER), Italian Chamber of Commerce for Romania (CCIpR), Foreign Investors Council (FIC), Hellenic Romanian Bilateral Chamber of Commerce (HRCC), Polish-Romanian Bilateral Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PRBCC)
Logistics supplier: DHL Express, Telecommunications provider: Nova
Supporters: BMW Group, Lino3D, Artecniko, Hanikian Law Firm, Gloa Design & Marketing Services