International financial institutions delay third loan tranche

“Staff teams from the IMF, the European Union and the World Bank have been assessing performance and prospects under the EUR 20 billion multinational support package for Romania. The third tranche for support, of about EUR 1.5 billion, is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of this review,” Jeffrey Franks, the IMF's chief of mission in Romania, said recently, after discussions with local authorities. According to him, despite good progress, in the current political environment crucial components of the policy package cannot be implemented. “Most importantly, the interim government cannot legally submit the 2010 budget to Parliament, nor can it undertake the actions needed to trim the 2010 deficit to 5.9 percent of the gross domestic product deficit target,” added Franks. IMF officials said that discussions would continue in the coming weeks and another mission would return to Bucharest as soon as a new government was in place.
Dana Ciuraru