The recently instated cabinet in Bucharest also wished to give a signal of continuity with respect to the commitments made by the previous government, said Ungureanu, who gave more details about the issues discussed with the international visitors:

“We talked about our determination to increase the absorption rate for European funds and to reduce tax evasion as much as possible. We also discussed the way in which we could convince the national governments of the EU member states to be more flexible with regard to accepting Romanian workers on their national markets. We need the European Union, in particular the states who have reservations about the import of Romanian labour, to understand two things: first of all, that this is part of the fundamental philosophy of the European Union, and secondly, that the benefits are mutual, both for the state supplying the labour and the state receiving it.”

Focusing on the international economic situation, the talks between the delegation led by the head of the International Monetary Fund mission to Romania, Jeffrey Franks, and the Bucharest officials also reviewed the forecasts for the country’s most important macroeconomic indicators, as well as the results obtained as part of the 5.4 billion euro precautionary agreement signed last spring. Romania committed to a deficit of 1.9% of the GDP at the most. While the budget is based on a forecast according to which the economic growth rate will reach 2.1% of the GDP, the International Monetary Fund said this rate could only reach 1.5%.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is even more pessimistic, estimating that Romania’s economic growth rate in 2012 will amount to a mere 1.1% of the GDP. This situation is largely the result of the problems faced by the other European economies. The budget is also based a forecast which is quite difficult to meet, namely the absorption of 6 billion euros this year in European funding for agriculture and cohesion.