This is how the PSD lies: deliberately misrepresenting Eurostat data

In a statement issued Thursday evening, the National Liberal Party (PNL) accused the Social Democratic Party (PSD) of launching a disinformation campaign around Eurostat data on Romania's budget deficit, saying it is "shamelessly lying" by suggesting that the deficit grew under the Bolojan government.

According to the Liberals, the PSD is deliberately conflating different statistical indicators. The real figures show that, on a cash basis, at the end of the first six months of 2026 the budget deficit stood at 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), compared with 3.64 percent in the same period of the previous year, while the cumulative half-year deficit calculated under the European ESA methodology was 3.4 percent. The PNL says the 9.2 percent figure cited by the PSD is not the six-month deficit but an indicator calculated solely for the second quarter under the ESA methodology after statistical adjustments, and presenting it as the full half-year deficit amounts to "gross manipulation" — in other words, the PSD is "comparing apples to oranges."

The Liberals also stressed that the difference between the two methodologies does not point to a hidden budget hole, as the Social Democrats imply, but stems from the way EU funds are accounted for, the timing of revenues and payment obligations. According to the statement, in the second quarter the Bolojan government advanced several billion euros to complete investments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), amounts that will later be reimbursed by the European Union and will therefore appear as revenue in the budget further down the line. In the same period, under ESA rules, Romania also had to record the obligation to pay Pfizer more than 3.4 billion lei in compensation. The PNL says the effectiveness of the fiscal adjustment is confirmed by all three international rating agencies that assess Romania, two of which expect an annual deficit even lower than the government's 6 percent target — Moody's projecting 5.8 percent and Fitch 5.9 percent — while S&P expects 6.25 percent.

Behind the dispute lies not just statistics but the question of responsibility. According to earlier Eurostat data, in 2024, under the Social Democratic government of Marcel Ciolacu, Romania's budget deficit reached 9.3 percent of GDP, the largest in the EU, before falling to 7.9 percent in 2025 as a result of the Bolojan government's austerity measures. The Social Democrats, however, have been arguing since last year that the austerity measures failed and that the ESA-based deficit will still end up above 9 percent. The dispute is all the more piquant given that the PSD and the PNL governed together until May of this year, and the Liberals are now supporting from the outside the Social Democrat-led Niculescu government, sworn in on Monday, which is taking over Bolojan's legacy — a deficit the Liberals say has been trimmed down, but which the Social Democrats claim has spiraled out of control.

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