Romania already has a „national project” represented by its accession to the OECD, which is in its final phase, and the next strategic objective will be the adoption of the euro, after balancing the economy and reducing the major fiscal deficit, stated on Thursday the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isărescu, according to Agerpres.
„We have a country project. Although I keep hearing that we don't have a country project. We basically have a country project, the one we are currently working on, which is dominated by Romania's entry into the OECD. Well, if that's not a country project either! Some 30-40 milestones, someone will have to write down what has happened to this project that has transformed Romania in recent years, by fulfilling these milestones. And we still have a few more to fulfill, but this country project is being finalized and we will enter another country project that has already been announced, we have been waiting for it for a long time and we must prepare it thoroughly, especially for the younger generation. And that is the adoption of the euro. That will also be the country project, but of course, as has been said, until then, the OECD is over, the economy is balanced, and we have to get out of this, I will not call it a nightmare, but in any case a difficulty, a deadlock, namely the major fiscal deficit. It is difficult to correct when you have things like that and especially when society has aspirations for the better”said Mugur Isărescu, at the conference on „Risks and Opportunities in the Romanian Financial System.”.
He emphasized that meeting the nominal criteria for adopting the euro must be done in a sustainable manner.
„And you see that the euro will not be adopted only in the Bucharest area, as I was asked yesterday by a foreign delegation. Some 10-15 years ago, I said: „Hey, Bucharest could join the euro zone tomorrow, if it were like that, if we could cut it off, take it out, but the country is bigger”. And those from 100 km from Bucharest or further away, where there is still poverty and where the rigors of adopting the euro have yet to be understood, want to join, or will have to. They too want to live well, don't they? And they represent part of the electorate. That's why we have all these discussions. They also want paved roads, sewers. It costs, it all costs. And so it's not that we don't understand, or somebody in the banking sector, but the nominal criteria are the ones that are required in the eurozone. But they are required to be met in a sustainable way, that's the key word. It's just that we did them in 2015 and 2016 has already taken us somewhere else, because of other policies, other social pressures, right? And now we have the same problem with meeting the nominal criteria. Pressures from the real economy and from, let's say, the poorer parts of the country, who are pressing on democratic ways, after all. The squabbles between the parties represent that. But the project has already been announced by the President of Romania, but it needs to be well prepared”, stated Mugur Isărescu.
According to the governor of the National Bank of Romania, the future of the Romanian financial system largely depends on the capacity to invest, starting today, in education, performance, and solid partnerships.