After the failed stabilisation plan of 1997, Romania went through a second deep transitional recession with the GDP declining by over 12 per cent during three consecutive years while inflation continued to be consistently higher than in comparable transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The privatisation process and economic restructuring also lagged. In 1999, the country had to weather a payment crisis and since then it has been looking for a new path to economic policies. In 2001, macroeconomic performance improved somewhat with 5.3 per cent GDP growth and inflation showing a declining trend, though with pressures on the external balance. Overall, looking back to a decade of transition in Romania, the impression is that precious time has been lost.