Romania's current political crisis could affect the country's economic performance and the confidence of foreign investors, said a minister delegate for trade Friday.

"The confidence of foreign investors in the Romanian business environment could drop against the background of the current political crisis, a fact reflected in the international press," said Iuliu Winkler.

"It is a signal of alarm, to overcome the political crisis and form a parliamentary majority and a government to continue the economic projects," added the minister.

Winkler believed the institutional and economic reforms must continue to prevent Romania from becoming a net contributor to the European Union (EU) budget after the first year of accession.

European regulations stipulate that member states must contribute 0.95 percent of their GDP to the EU budget, Winkler explained. As Romania's GDP this year might reach 110 billion euros (146.3 billion U.S. dollars), its contribution to the EU would amount to 1.1 billion euros (1.46 billion U.S. dollars).

"I have no doubt that Romania will be a beneficiary of the EU accession on the whole. The problem is whether we are beneficiaries or contributors from the first year," he said.

"If the funds absorbed after the first year exceed 1.1 billion euros, then we are beneficiaries."

Romania, which joined the EU on Jan. 1, is currently witnessing a period of political turbulence. The feud between President Traian Basescu's Democrat party and Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu's Liberal party has worsened in recent months, with the two leaders even confronting each other in public.

Meanwhile, the opposition Social Democrats are trying to impeach the president.

Source: Xinhua