“There haven’t been significant changes on the Romanian legal market,” says Alexandra Rimbu, Partner at MPR Partners⎮Maravela, Popescu & Roman in Bucharest. “Recent changes were rather small and had no overarching impact on the legal market – the structure remains unchanged.”
Rimbu says that the results of this November’s parliamentary and presidential elections were encouraging, however. “Surprisingly, everything ran smoother than expected,” she says. “The transfer of power passed without many controversies, Parliament elected a new Government in its first session, and even the budget discussions were smoother than anticipated, since it should pass shortly.”
Romania’s political stability reflects a relatively strong moment for business in the country, she says, and for the economy as a whole. “The M&A sector has been pretty active, as it has been all year," she says emphatically. "The second trimester saw over 30 deals with an average worth of EUR 36 million." In addition, she reports, “important infrastructure advancement steps are being made, especially concerning roads, highways, and railroads. Hospitals are being built, and two Bucharest airports are under construction to be extended.”
However, not everything is working like clockwork. “The labor market is under distress,” she says, “with the labor force in a steady decline. This puts the country in a sensitive situation.” Rimbu says that this may be offset with a rise in immigration, adding that “the legislative labor framework is expected to change in 2020, seeing as how it’s a bit outdated. The distressed labor environment could lead to higher wages and more effort from employers aimed at retaining their employees,” which she says could help the labor sector in the long run.
