Romanian vote sets 2024 for euro date

Romania’s ruling Social Democrats (PSD), in power for a year, voted at an extraordinary congress yesterday to back a 2024 target date to adopt the euro currency.

Romania, with a population of about 21 million, had originally set a 2014 target to adopt the single currency, later pushed to 2019. But these dates proved unrealistic given scant progress meeting EU targets for its economy and institutions to catch up with richer countries.

Its economy has grown robustly in recent years, expanding by 6.9pc in the fourth quarter, with domestic consumption jumping by 9.3pc, boosted by wage and pension hikes.