Lionachescu: While others started to grow, we commemorate two years of crisis

Doru Lionachescu, managing partner of investment banking adviser Capital Partners, says on the July 1 we commemorated two years since the crisis broke out, without genuine restructuring measures being taken so far and without the possibility of a technocracy being considered again.

Romania started on a downward path whose end is not in sight, but things could worsen in autumn, in the context where the current measures - cutting salaries in the public sector and raising the VAT rate - will not be sufficient to balance out the budget.

"I think the VAT raise is not enough, and we will see a new wave of measures this autumn. The unsustainability of pension costs needs to be resolved either by taxation or by increasing the retirement age. While others have started to grow, we are falling even deeper after two years of crisis," which we technically commemorated on July 1. We can say no genuine restructuring measure has been taken, and the five-month budget execution stands proof of that (the budget deficit reached 3.1% of GDP at the end of May," comments Lionachescu.

The 47 year-old consultant has worked for ING, Citibank, and Bancpost banks over the years.