Romania said on Monday a 15% U.S. import tariff on European goods would mean a small hit to central Europe's second-largest economy, while export-reliant Slovakia hailed the U.S. trade deal as a "good result," Reuters reported. Sunday's framework trade agreement between the United States and the European Union staved off the threat of a trade war, which has loomed over the region's economies, among the EU's most dependent on trade.

Restart Energy One, a Romanian independent energy supplier and renewable project developer, has proposed repaying just 17% of the face value of its bond debt as part of a restructuring plan submitted under a pre-insolvency procedure, Romania Insider reported. The company published the proposal in a report to the Bucharest Stock Exchange on July 9. The plan allocates RON 5.62 million to bondholders against total outstanding bond obligations amounting to RON 16.4 million and EUR 3.35 million, or approximately RON 33 million, Ziarul Financiar reported.

Romanian furniture manufacturer Taparo, a key supplier to IKEA and major European retailers, is nearing bankruptcy after its judicial administrator formally requested the Maramureş Court to initiate bankruptcy proceedings, citing the full cessation of the company’s operations, Romania-Insider.com reported. The request, filed on May 29, was recorded in the Insolvency Proceedings Bulletin, Ziarul Financiar reported.

Romania’s competition authority said it has approved the notified acquisition of local wood processing company ZG Timber Sebes by Austrian wood-based panel manufacturer Kronospan Holdings, SeeNews.com reported. The Competition Council found no significant concerns regarding the effect of the transaction on competition within the Romanian market, it said in a statement on Friday. ZG Timber Sebes produces timber and pellets at a plant in the central city of Sebes, Alba county.

Romania's sole flat steel producer and among the few still operational in Europe, Liberty Galati (part of GFG Alliance's Liberty Steel Group), announced it resumed activity on June 4 after idling for an entire year amid adverse market conditions, Romania-Insider.com reported. Over the past year and a half, the company received EUR 292 million in government-guaranteed loans from state-owned bank Eximbank but failed to reach break-even production amid a weak market last year. The company ties its hope for settling its mounting debts to the state's stimulus for the defense industry.

The European Commission has reprimanded Austria and Romania for breaking European Union limits on government spending — as Austria deals with the financial fall-out of months of political deadlock and Romania's long-running fiscal problems drag on, Politico reported. Under EU fiscal rules, a country's deficit — the difference between a government’s revenues and expenditures — cannot exceed 3 percent of the country's gross domestic product. Both countries went through a long period of political crisis this year. But their situations are very different.

Slovenia, Romania, and Croatia were among the countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to face rising insolvency rates in 2024, despite the economic recovery in the region, global credit insurer Coface said, SeeNews.com reported. In Slovenia, the total number of insolvency proceedings rose by 32.4% year-on-year in 2024, reaching 769 cases. The largest share came from the construction sector (29.26%), followed by business and personal services (22.63%), while the financial sector accounted for the smallest portion (0.91%).

Techtex, a company specializing in the production of technical textiles, mainly personal protective equipment (face masks, Dr. Albert brand), part of the IKEA supplier Taparo Group (also in dire financial conditions), has entered insolvency, according to Ziarul Financiar, Romania-Insider.com reported. The face mask factory was developed by the Taparo Group during the 2020 pandemic, with EUR 20 million in funding from state bank Eximbank and guidance from banker Dan Pascariu.

The state cargo railway company CFR Marfa, which entered insolvency in April after five years of pre-insolvency status, plans to diminish its dues by 32% to RON 3.1 billion (EUR 620 million) during this year by the transfer of RON 1.5 billion (EUR 300 million) of assets to the newly set up company Carpatica Feroviar, according to the budget of the company inked by the Transport Ministry and quoted by News.ro.