Over the past decade, Romania has gone through a period of fiscal instability, which has led to dissatisfaction among the business community, who are calling for predictability and stability. The absence of real and sustainable reforms, along with the frequent shifts in governmental priorities, has had a major impact on the national tax regime.
Although in 2015 the government launched a reform by adopting the new Fiscal Code, this initiative quickly turned into a prime example of legislative volatility: between 2015 and 2025, the Fiscal Code was amended approximately 140 times, mainly through emergency ordinances and government-initiated legislative proposals. Of these, 69 changes were initiated by the government, with 2024 standing out as the year with the most legislative interventions (24).
This situation is not only a symptom of institutional fragmentation but also of a lack of governmental stability. In 35 years, Romania has had 22 full-term prime ministers (plus 11 interim ones) — on average, a full-term prime minister’s mandate lasted just 1.7 years. The same trend is visible with finance ministers: Romania has had 30 finance ministers, with an average term of 1.2 years, compared to 3.5 years in Germany. As a result, the frequent changes have led to the abandonment of many of the reform projects initially undertaken by governments. In essence, Romania has lacked a cross-party national development plan.
The absence of broad and sustainable reforms has meant that many key areas of public administration have failed to adapt quickly enough to the needs of citizens and the business environment.
Change has often been driven by immediate needs for fiscal correction, rather than based on a well-defined roadmap built on development pillars.
This year’s presidential elections highlighted widespread dissatisfaction in society. As a result of these elections, President Nicușor Dan broke with the recent tradition of government formation, starting instead from a set of guiding principles rather than specific names. The head of state also called on political parties to focus on drafting a coherent and realistic governing program. In this context, swift fiscal measures can no longer be postponed.
Tax policy is also under the scrutiny of the European Commission. Within the European Semester framework, the Commission has consistently issued critical observations regarding Romania’s fiscal policy. In the 2024 Country Report, the Commission emphasizes that the key priority for eliminating risks to economic stability is the adoption of credible fiscal consolidation measures, referring to the structural reforms included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).
The frequency of changes to the Fiscal Code — from emergency ordinances to last-minute legislative proposals — has created a tax environment considered unpredictable by both local entrepreneurs and international investors. This situation complicates the implementation of structural reforms, negatively impacts the country’s credit rating, and generates volatility in the allocation of public resources.
In this climate, the formation of the new government is more important to be based on clear principles, with a program agreed upon by all pro-European parties, aiming to provide stability for the coming years.
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