EC Loan Not Conditioned By Romania’s Justice Reform – EC Official

There is no conditioning between the granting of the financial aid to Romania and the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification, Torres said, adding the decision to grant the loan to Romania was adopted Tuesday by the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN).

Torres also said the Commission is preparing to complete the memorandum of understanding which will contain the detailed conditions already discussed.

She insisted on the fact that loan conditions have already been made public, and Romania’s progress in reforming its justice system is not among these conditions.

Torres did remind of a statement she made last week for MEDIAFAX, when she said the European Commission had sent a proposition to finance ministers in the EU to tie the loan for Romania to the country’s judicial reform.

Romanian President Traian Basescu said the International Monetary Fund released Tuesday the first tranche of the EUR12.95 billion loan, adding that ECOFIN approved the European Commission’s EUR5 billion loan to Romania.

The Executive Board of the IMF approved Monday a two-year EUR12.95 billion stand-by arrangement for Romania to support an economic program designed by the Romanian authorities. The first installment is worth about EUR5 billion.

The IMF loan is part of a multilateral financial support that will amount to EUR19.95 billion, including EUR5 billion from the EU, and funds from other international institutions.