Although the International Monetary Fund expects a 4% fall of Romanian economy, and 4.7% budget deficit of GDP, Romanian government is seemingly striking the same hopeful note.
Pogea: A 1% fall of economic is not a collapse
Minister of Finance, Gheorghe Pogea (photo) said there was the likelihood of a higher decline of economy than 1% of GDP in 2009, but it didn’t mean this would precipitate into an economic collapse.
“I don’t think this negative growth will precipitate into economic collapse. It’s only an issue more difficult to solve in the current market conditions. We will however try to limit the freefall of economic growth, to shore up the economic interests of individuals, to meet the 2014 deadline set for the accession to euro area, and to establish a synergy between our achievements and the European rescue plan”, Pogea explained.
The minister of finance added that if Romania faced a serious contraction, the budget deficit would hence widen.
Romanian authorities are currently handling talks with International Monetary Fund for a two-year agreement. The total amount of the rescue package from IMF and European Commission would probably hover around 18 – 20 bln euros, said Mihai Tanasescu, representative of Romania in IMF.
Boc: The loan agreement with EC and IMF will serve as a precautionary measure
The loan Romanian authorities will take from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Commission (EC) is preventive and does not force authorities to raise the flat tax and the value added tax, premier Emil Boc said, cited by NewsIn.
Romania could take 13 billion euros, of the 18 billion euro possible loan, from the IMF while the rest of the money will be borrowed from the EC, the World Bank or other financial institutions, people close to the negotiations told NewsIn yesterday.
Romania could strike a
