Romania ended last year with a budget deficit of 4.6% of GDP, exceeding the estimates of the authorities in November, when the second budget rectification was carried out, the Minister of Finance, Florin Citu, announced on Tuesday.

A higher level of the budget deficit was recorded only in the crisis year 2010, when the budget closed with a negative balance of 6.5% of GDP. In 2018, the budget deficit was of 2.88% of GDP. “Last year ended with a budget deficit of 4.6%, slightly above what we estimated at the November rectification,” said Citu, quoted by Agerpres.

According to the MFP official, the deficit growing by 0.2 percentage points of GDP against the target established by the last budget rectification of 4.4% of GDP, was generated by lower revenues by 1.3 billion lei from additional dividends from national companies, payment of 0.91 billion lei for the settlement of financial obligations resulting from the arbitration decision ARB/05/20 – respectively the payment of compensations to Viorel and Ioan Micula and additional capital and operating expenses at administrative-territorial units of 1, 3 billion lei in December.