On November 20, 1992, he was appointed to the role of Prime Minister of Romania. Internally, his prime ministerial mandate began with some limited economic reforms in the areas of fiscal, budgetary, monetary and industrial prices, which made possible the resumption of Romania's economic growth since 1993. Between 1993 and 1996, GDP grew by 17.5%, after a contraction of 24.5% in 1990-1992 immediately after the fall of the communist regime. After a fall in industrial production, between 1990 and 1992, 49% saw an increase of 22% in the 1993-1996 period. However, this growth was not sustainable, with many enterprises remaining under the weak management of the state, and produced much in stock just to report rising production figures. At the same time, foreign investment was almost non-existent, as the government opposed any significant privatization in industry, although at that time many enterprises could still be sold at reasonable prices. These delays caused Romania to enter into recession at the end of Văcăroiu's tenure as well as Bulgaria. Instead, Văcăroiu opted for an inefficient privatization method - the distribution of some enterprises to the general population, with the option of subscribing to some state-owned companies, but without providing any real and relevant information on the economic situation of those enterprises. At the end of his term, the situation of most state-owned enterprises was disastrous, even in Bancorex (a foreign trade bank with a prospect of success), which made Romania close to its inability to pay debts.