Romanian PM Luca Niculescu meets central bank governor and business leaders on 26 October

Two meetings on the prime minister's schedule

Prime Minister Luca Niculescu is scheduled to meet the governor of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), Mugur Isărescu, at 11:00 at the bank's headquarters on Monday, 26 October 2026. At 14:00 he is due to meet business representatives at Palatul Victoria in Bucharest. The schedule, announced by the Palace and the government, does not say which topics will be discussed in either session. Photo opportunities for the official cameraman and photographer are planned at both meetings. One outlet, G4Media, dates the Monday as 25 October, while the other reports point to 26 October.

Recovery funds come first

At the close of the first government sitting, Niculescu had asked ministries on Friday, 23 October, to speed up the final payments under Romania's recovery plan (PNRR), focusing on payment requests 5 and 6. Ministries were also asked to set measures that would accelerate the evaluation of those requests and to fix technical and legislative problems raised with the European Commission. He said the government had set three priorities right after taking office, and the first one concerns the recovery plan.

“Closing the PNRR without losses, which is why we are activating an operational team this week to respond quickly to the European Commission”

The operational team is meant to unlock billions of euros from the last two payment requests. The second priority is faster absorption of Cohesion Policy 2021-2027 funds, through weekly monitoring of how projects are progressing. The third is preparing and negotiating the next Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028-2034, which Niculescu described as a stake of more than 60 billion euros for modernising Romania over the coming decade.

Budget and deficit target

Right after the investiture, Niculescu said the budget for next year is mandatory and that all parties understand this. He said he has no doubt the 2027 budget will be adopted, calling it a top priority of the government. He also said the budget will respect the commitments already made and keep the deficit on the agreed path, while improving living conditions in the years ahead. The deficit exceeded 9% of GDP in 2024 and is estimated at 6.2% of GDP for 2026. The target is to bring it below 3% of GDP by 2030, a goal the new Executive has to pursue while investor confidence is rebuilt.

Context of the new government

Parliament invested the government led by Niculescu on 20 October, after several nominations made by President Nicușor Dan failed to produce a majority. The new Executive comes after a prolonged period of political instability. Rising prices have also eroded the purchasing power of the population, which adds pressure on the government to fund investment while cutting the deficit. The agenda of the two meetings has not been made public.