Eastern Balkans in February 2026: the most important developments in economy
In February 2026 economic news from the Eastern Balkans was dominated by investment and corporate deals in Romania. Chinese investors launched a large logistics real estate project in northeast Bucharest, and French defence firm Thales said it plans to hire 1,000 people in Romania by 2030. Politehnica University of Bucharest and Bosch opened a joint laboratory for mobility engineers, and OMV Petrom started a photovoltaic project at its Petrobrazi refinery. Carrefour announced the sale of its Romanian operations to Pavăl Holding. Chinese car brands raised their share of the Romanian market to 9.5% in January, nearly tenfold from a year earlier. Bucharest Stock Exchange reported a sixfold rise in 2025 profit, Premier Energy a 327% rise in net profit and Banca Transilvania a 16% rise.
On public finances, Romania's finance minister outlined a 4 billion euro recovery package running to 2032 and aimed for bond yields below 6% at all maturities by year-end. The prime minister described the country's technical recession as a correction of the public deficit. Romania raised 3 billion euros and 2 billion US dollars in three international bond issues. The European Commission is to decide by mid-March on paying 3.5 billion euros under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
Bulgaria faced a demand from the EU for repayment and the possible loss of recovery funds over stalled reforms. Its central bank governor said the euro changeover would add 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points to inflation. Bulgaria recorded a record trade deficit in December and ratified a railway link with North Macedonia, and private passenger trains are due to start running after 138 years of a state rail monopoly. The EBRD forecast steady growth for Bulgaria through 2027.
Lukoil's assets were a further issue. Romania placed its local Lukoil assets under extended state supervision, and Lukoil sought force majeure protection for its Trident perimeter in the Romanian Black Sea. It threatened an international lawsuit against Bulgaria over the seizure of assets at its Bulgarian refinery.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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