Romania Projects 2.5% GDP Growth, 2.0% Budget Deficit in 2009

The country ended 2008 with a GDP growth of 7.8% and a budget gap equivalent to 5.2% of the GDP, or 6.7 billion euro ($8.9 billion), according to estimates presented by Prime Minister Emil Boc at a news conference. Romania's previous government planned a budget shortfall of 2.3% of GDP for last year, but the combined effect of the global financial crisis and increased spending in the runup to the parliamentary elections in November proved to be costly.

Romania's bipartite government coalition that took office in late December, projects an average exchange rate of four lei per euro and a nominal GDP of 579 billion lei ($179 billion/135 billion euro) in the 2009 budget draft, the government's press office quoted Finance Minister Gheorghe Pogea as saying at the same news conference.

Pogea also said budget revenue will not exceed 32.1% of GDP this year.

When Boc's government took office, it withdrew from parliament the 2009 budget draft submitted by the previous cabinet, and said it would propose a new blueprint to take into account the impact of the global financial turmoil on the Romanian economy.

(1 euro = 4.2881 Romanian lei)