EC Team Joins IMF, WB For Loan Review Mission To Romania

The statement comes one day after both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank said they will send assessment missions to Romania over the same interval.

However, the Commission and the IMF did not rule out the possibility of a follow-up mission to Romania to continue talks with the authorities in Bucharest after a new government is formed.

Romania, which secured EUR20 billion in international aid from the IMF, the European Union and other foreign lenders, is relying on the disbursement of a third EUR1.5 billion tranche from the IMF and a second EUR1 billion installment from the EU by the end of this year.

However, the recent collapse of Romanian minority government has raised doubts about the country’s success in complying with the loan terms, highlighting the possibility of a delay in the next disbursements of the foreign package.

The review mission’s success depends on Romania’s ability to eliminate risks of fiscal slippage at the end of this year and to adopt the 2010 budget considering a government deficit no higher than 5.9% of the gross domestic product, the Commission said.

In addition, Romania and the international institutions must reach an agreement regarding fiscal, macroeconomic and structural policies necessary to complete the financial aid program successfully.