Grindeanu claimed that the former cabinet led by prime minister Ilie Bolojan, which the PSD supported until May this year, accumulated unpaid obligations worth RON 35 billion (nearly EUR 7 billion), equivalent to more than 1.5% of GDP, Adevarul reported.
The amount reportedly includes unpaid sick leave benefits, outstanding invoices for infrastructure works and salary entitlements owed to magistrates.
The demand for budget execution figures on an accrual basis is part of the PSD’s attacks on the former cabinet, which the Social Democrats replaced this month with a government formally headed by independent prime minister Luca Niculescu. The PSD has promised measures to revive the economy and improve conditions for low-income households, involving public spending not included in the 2026 budget and most likely incompatible with fiscal consolidation in 2027 unless genuine public administration reforms are implemented. The narrative of hidden debts could thus provide the Social Democrats with an escape route: they can either allow fiscal slippage to accommodate their populist spending promises or blame the former government for making the promised social spending impossible.
PM Niculescu promised to provide data requested by PSD
Prime minister Niculescu announced that, starting Wednesday, October 28, he would focus on the budget revision, which he described as “an urgent matter”. He said that the revision and the presentation of the country’s financial situation, requested by PSD leader Grindeanu, would proceed in parallel.
“It seems logical to me to know how the country’s finances stand. At the same time, the budget revision is urgent,” Niculescu said in Chișinău when asked whether he would present the country’s financial situation first, as requested by the PSD leader, or adopt the budget revision first.
Finance minister Nazare defended official data on January–September budget execution
Finance minister Alexandru Nazare, in turn, defended the budget execution figures for the first nine months of the year.
The Social Democrats’ narrative about hidden debts, which they claim were concealed by prime minister Bolojan to make the official budget execution figures look better, contradicts the Finance Ministry’s official position. The dispute has direct implications for Romania’s credibility at a time when the country needs to tap international markets and issue foreign-currency bonds. The Finance Ministry postponed foreign-currency bond issues, needed to finance this year’s budget deficit and service public debt, until after the appointment of a new government - a condition that has now been met.
Nazare, who served as finance minister under both the Bolojan government and the government led by Luca Niculescu, presented official data showing that the budget deficit had fallen by 1.5 percentage points of GDP in the first nine months of the year. The Ministry of Finance published the January–September budget execution figures on October 27, following a detailed presentation by Nazare last week.
Difficult 2026 budget revision expected within a week
The government is expected to approve the first budget revision of the year in the coming days, Radio România Actualitǎți reported. The decision could be made either on Friday, October 30, or at a cabinet meeting scheduled for next week, according to government sources familiar with the matter.
The ministries requested a total of RON 60 billion (EUR 12 billion) in additional allocations as part of the budget revision, equivalent to almost 3% of GDP, according to information obtained by Profit.ro. The amount is substantial for what was presented as an emergency budget revision intended to cover critical funding needs in certain areas. However, the total requested does not mean that the government will allocate the full amount.
In addition to the large sums requested by ministries, uncertainty over grants under the latest payment requests submitted to the European Commission for evaluation under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF/PNRR) poses a risk to this year’s budget execution. Romania expects to receive around EUR 6.4 billion (1.5% of GDP) under the final two payment requests. Any amounts lost would put additional pressure on the budget deficit.
A second budget revision, in November, should address the budgetary situation for the end of the year.