Deputy PM Viorel Stefan: Romania, fifth among EU 28 member states due to 4.2 percent growth

Deputy Prime Minister Viorel Stefan affirmed Romania, with the first quarter's 4.2 economic growth, ranks fifth among the European Union's 28 member states, twice the level of the European average. 

"Just as last year, the growth is twice the level of the 2.4 European Union average, 4.2 the growth registered by the Romanian economy. As the European Commission has said, we have a robust economic growth and the development rhythm stands at the potential forecasted by the Commission for the current year," Viorel Stefan stated at the Victoria Palace, in a presentation on the state of the Romanian economy in 2018's first quarter. 

The Deputy Prime Minister underscored that the first quarter's results are "less relevant, as they only have a 19 percent contribution, if we look at the entire year." 

"Secondly, we need to notice that usually the first quarter is influenced by uncertain conditions to a larger extent than the other quarters of the year," Viorel Stefan said. 

Romania's economy increased by 4 percent in this year's first quarter, as raw series, and by 4.2 percent as series adjusted depending on working days and seasonality, as compared to the same period of 2017, show data released on Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).