Nicușor Dan: Romania Functions Despite Political Noise as Fitch Holds Sovereign Rating Above Junk
President Nicușor Dan said Romania is stabilising financially after Fitch kept the country's sovereign rating one step above junk, while acknowledging purchasing power has fallen and calling on citizens to separate political noise from real progress.
Fitch rating confirmed
On the night of 31 July to 1 August, Fitch Ratings reaffirmed Romania’s sovereign credit rating one notch above the speculative-grade threshold, avoiding a downgrade that would have labelled it as non-investment grade. The rating agency’s decision was published overnight, according to media reports, and acknowledged Romania’s financial stability. President Nicușor Dan welcomed the move in a public address on Saturday morning.
I welcome the Fitch report, which reconfirms Romania's financial stability. There is some concern in the report about the political situation in Romania.
The report noted that the initial deliberation had considered a different outcome, with a potential downgrade that would have delivered a significant blow to the country, a detail reported by HotNews. Dan urged citizens and partners to distinguish between political action and political noise, emphasising that on major issues a consensus had been reached.
PNRR milestones: codes adopted, three left
The president announced that Parliament this week passed several laws serving as milestones in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which he will promulgate next week. Among them is the Urbanism Code, a long-debated piece of legislation that has been in discussion since 2019 and incorporates the results of the 2024 Bucharest referendum, as reflected financially in the 2026 budget law.
Despite the political noise, Romania functions. Parliament passed several laws this week that were PNRR milestones, and I will promulgate these laws next week. Among them, the Urbanism Code, an important law debated since 2019.
Three PNRR milestones remain to be fulfilled. The draft law on the National Integrity Agency and the biodiversity law will be debated by both chambers of Parliament next week, with sessions already convened. The third, the public-sector salary law, is described by Dan as the “last and most difficult” milestone. He noted that the suspension of the healthcare sector strike was “a small step forward” in the ongoing debate.
Political consensus on budget and euro adoption
Dan underlined that, regardless of any future government’s composition, there is broad political agreement on maintaining Romania’s assumed fiscal trajectory. This includes drafting the 2027 state budget as early as this autumn to provide predictability. He also announced a political consensus on adopting the euro.
There is political agreement to preserve Romania's financial trajectory, no matter the future government's composition. There is political agreement on drafting the 2027 budget starting this autumn, for predictability, no matter the future government's composition. And there is political agreement on transitioning to the euro. The future government, together with the National Bank, will draw up a roadmap for the coming years with all necessary actions for euro adoption.
He added that over 100 legislative acts needed for OECD accession, as well as the PNRR and the SAFE programme, had received cross-party backing, showing the state was functioning beyond the day-to-day political disputes.
Direct appeal to citizens
The president addressed the public directly, acknowledging that purchasing power had decreased and that uncertainty about the future was a reality. He said the daily political arguments were “exasperating.”
Dear Romanians, I understand both your hardships and your worries. Obviously, purchasing power has decreased. There is uncertainty about the future. And we are all exasperated by the sterile political debates we see every day.
He insisted that Romania is stabilising financially and that the country “will be better,” urging confidence in the reforms underway.
