September 2020

S&P warns Romania planned pension hike could derail economy

S&P Global Ratings warned Romania on Tuesday that a move by parliament to reinstate a massive 40% raise in pensions would prompt a disorderly fiscal correction just as the economy is struggling with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Romania's parliament voted this month to raise all state pensions by 40%, undoing a smaller 14% hike by the centrist minority government and opening the way for potential ratings downgrades two months before a parliamentary election. The government, which has...

Romania MPs Undermine Austerity Drive With Huge Pension Hike

Romania’s parliament on Tuesday dealt a major blow to the centre-right government’s push to keep the public finances in order by amending the budget to raise pensions by a whopping 40 per cent, instead of 14 per cent, as the original legislation envisioned. Increasing pensions by 40 per cent is an old promise of the opposition Social Democratic Party, PSD, which has the largest number of seats in parliament and tabled the amendment. Besides the PSD, which made...