EU member states avoid junk rating for over a decade, warns Mureșan

Siegfried Mureșan pointed out that the last EU members to fall to junk status were Greece in April 2010, Ireland in July 2011, Hungary and Portugal in November 2011, Cyprus in June 2012 and Slovenia in May 2013, all amid severe economic turmoil. He cautioned that a similar downgrade for Romania would lead to higher interest rates, fewer investments, fewer jobs and a harder debt-servicing burden, impacting ordinary people quickly.

Standard & Poor’s has maintained Romania’s rating at BBB-, classifying it as investment-grade but the agency notes a negative outlook and stresses fiscal consolidation and EU fund absorption as key to preserving the rating. Mureșan urged responsible policymaking, warning that populist measures could increase costs for the population.