EC requires Romania to thoroughly explain financing of new Wage Law for budgetary sector

20 August 2026 On August 19, the European Commission sent a point of view to the Romanian government regarding the draft Wage Law for the budgetary sector, requesting clarifications on the budgetary sources for the RON 12 billion or higher increase in the payroll next year, as announced by interim prime minister Ilie Bolojan. Initially, Romania set a RON 8 billion increase in the payroll envelope from RON 166 billion this year. The European Commission now requires more details about the financing of the RON 12 billion increase, corresponding to a 7% indexation justified by inflation. Romania’s economic outlook for this year and the coming years has deteriorated, and the country’s public debt exceeded 60% of GDP for the first time at the end of March 2026, as confirmed by Eurostat, which pu