The political and economical situation of Romania after the fall of communism in 1989 was largely defined by the totalitarian regime of the decades-long rule dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who took power in 1965, and remained in it until 1989 when he was overthrown and executed. The oppressive and draconian regime combined with the economical policy that the Romanian politician adopted in the 1980s had as a goal the repayment of the national debts, deteriorated both the economical and political cohesion of the Romanian society. Additionally, the aforementioned actions created a deprived socioeconomical status quo that complicated the first steps of the Romanian economy towards the creation of a market economy. Though, the financial and technical assistance that flowed in from the U.S., European Union, other industrial nations, and international financial institutions facilitated Romania's reintegration into the world economy.

Nowadays, Romania can be fairly characterized as a stable country with a relatively remarkable economic performance. Particularly the national economy experienced a noteworthy economic boom during the period between 2003 and 2008. The main reason behind this was the process of accession to the European Union. Romania became a member of European Union in 2007 after a strenuous thought constructive preparative period. The economic and structural help that the European Union offered to the country constituted a solid external anchor for the transformation of the country throughout its transition. Through the accession of the country to important economic programs of the European Union, such as Phare, and the implementation of a stable and reliable political and social structure thus the implementation of acquis communitaire in the internal legislative and administrative status quo, European Union helped Romania to stay focused on its course of transformation.

With a population of over 21 million, Romania is the second largest country in Central and Eastern Europe and the seventh largest among the 27 current members of the European Union. The relatively large size of the countries population can create and sustain a strong and viable market. Though, the biggest problem was poverty. Although, Romania steadily converges in income, competitiveness and living standards towards the EU, the gap still remains large. In 2008, income per capita was around 44% of the EU 27 average. Of course, the Romanian government implemented macroeconomic and structural policies which are supportive of growth and disinflation and leaded to rapid gains in poverty reduction but still there is a big distance between the current situation and the creation of a strong middle class.

The aforementioned situation was even deteriorated during the economic crises that severely struck the country. Strong austerity measures and a re-evaluation of populist policies, including in public sector wages and pensions, was adopted by the Romanian government in order to tackle with the difficult task of reconciling short-term fiscal consolidation. Conclusively, we can say that the latest global economic recession exposed the existing imbalances and economic vulnerabilities in Romania's economy that are rooted in an unfinished agenda of social political and economical reforms.

Apart from the above-mentioned consequences the global economic and financial recession also had a negative effect in the macroeconomic indicators of the country. The economic activity was sharply declined in the last quarter of 2008 and has fallen further in early 2009. Real GDP growth fell from an average of 9 percent during the first three quarters of 2008 to a 13 percent decline in the fourth quarter. It is needless to say that this sharp and immense decline created a shock in the national economy. Additionally, it devastated an entrenched perception that the Romanian economy was and will be in a constant process of development.

During the economic recession Romanian government found itself in a rather challenging and difficult situation. It should bridge the gap between reconciling short-term fiscal consolidation and alleviate the social costs of it. The country's authorities should find a way to continue the implementation of the structural reform agenda that Romania followed and has as an objective the creation of sources for a sustainable and equitable growth. In order for this task to have a successful outcome the full commitment of the political actors and public sector institutions should be assured.

The global economic recession created a rather strenuous situation to the Romanian economy and stopped a positive economic development that the country had experienced. The structural deficiencies of a socieconomical system that was based in the fallacy of everlasting development had been revealed. It remains to be seen if the country will fulfill its considerable potential as it is relatively rich in agricultural lands, diverse energy sources (coal, oil, natural gas, hydro, nuclear, well-trained work force) and opportunities for expanded development in tourism on the Black Sea and in the mountains or if it will sink due to the fault of the past, namely corruption, bureaucracy and poverty.