Blood donors in the country can buy government securities with a yield of more than 7% per annum - about one percentage point higher than for other retail investors.
The program simultaneously helps the government raise money and encourages blood donations. Last year, Romania had the highest budget deficit among EU countries. Now private investors, including buyers of donor bonds, provide almost a fifth of all government borrowing.
The state almost does not have to spend money on advertising the initiative, notes the head of the treasury, Stefan Nanu. In 2023, the program was launched in partnership with a popular radio station, but since then TV channels have also been talking about it for free.
Bloomberg does not report how much funding it has raised since its launch. Thousands of private investors have already bought bonds at the “donor” rate, the publication writes.
Since 2021, Romania has annually exceeded the EU limit on public debt of 3% of GDP. At the end of 2025, Romania's budget deficit amounted to 7.9% of GDP. This is more than in any other EU country, and also slightly higher than forecasts - the Romanian government planned a deficit of 7.8%.
In June 2025, the European Commission warned that if the situation does not change, Romania could face a freeze of some funding from EU funds. Since then, Bucharest has cut budget spending and approved tax increases, but the authorities have not implemented some of the necessary reforms on time. In August 2026, EU authorities threatened to deprive the country of a tranche of 770 million euros for economic recovery if Romania did not quickly pass a law on public sector wages.
