Radu Berceanu ready to swear that the IMF will be indulgent with Romania
The loan package that Romania wants to take from the global financial institutions reaches 19 billion euros, only 4 of which will be used. The rest - 15 billion euros - will be a backup.
The Romanian Government members finished the calculations regarding the financing package that Romania should borrow from the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB) and other funding institutions.
"The sum brought into discussion is about 19 billion euros, only four of which will support Government activities, the rest having a backup role", said the Transport Minister Radu Berceanu. He also stated that the sum from the IMF, that reaches 13 billion euros, will be available for the NBR and will be spent only to support the national currency or "for any other unexpected issues".
PM Emil Boc also wanted to clarify that "the Government talks with the IMF and the European Commission about the loan take place due to prevention reasons in order to limit the negative effects of the economic crisis, not because Romania would be in desperate need of money". In addition to the 13 billions from the IMF, the European Commission would grant Romania 4 billion, the European Investment Bank would grant another billion euros and the World Bank another billion. The money from the European Commission and the ones from the World Bank would go to the Finance Ministry, while the money from the EIB to the banks for private funding, the government sources say.
The conditions imposed by the IMF are "indulgent" as compared to the previous agreement, when "a lot tougher" directions were to be followed, Berceanu said.
"We are not so happy to have the agreement or the assistance from the IMF, but there is no tragedy about it.