Romanian Minister Says Govt Not Planning To Raise VAT, Flat Tax

Udrea said she thinks the 25% cuts in public sector wages and 15% cuts in pensions the Cabinet is to enforce are enough.

„If we don’t manage to enforce these measures, it’s not us who should consider other measures, but a different government,” she said.

She also denied rumors that authorities are planning to take a new loan from the International Monetary Fund, which is currently leading a EUR20 billion rescue package agreed last year. The IMF Board will decide late June whether to disburse further installments of the loan, which are conditioned by the Government’s ability to implement its austerity measures and cut back on public spending.

Amid talks about a potential Government reshuffle, Udrea said such a move would delay reform, but she would agree with the replacement of ministers in cases where others could work more efficiently.

Democrat liberal prime minister and party leader Emil Boc meets Sunday with his party’s lawmakers, heads of local party branches and the party’s MEPs to discuss the Government’s austerity plan.

The party is also expected to decide whether to have a Cabinet reshuffle or leave it as it is for another six months, as party vice-president Valeriu Stoica said Saturday.

It is unclear whether President Traian Basescu, a former leader of the party but who is now formally independent, will attend their meeting.