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| THE WEEK IN REVIEW (26/10-1/11/2009) |
| (2009-10-30) |
| Last updated: 2009-11-02 11:48 EET |
Missions of the IMF, the World Bank and the European Commission are these days in Bucharest to renegotiate, at the Romanian authorities’ request, the targets assumed by Bucharest as part of the foreign loan accord concluded with these international bodies in spring. On the previous visit, the IMF accepted certain modifications related to the growth of the budget deficit for 2009 up to 7.3% of the GDP. What do analysts have to say about it? Given the delays reported over the past months, mainly related to the restructuring of budget expenses, Romania’s chances to reach the targets set have dropped considerably, says the economic analyst Lucian Lungu:
“The IMF representatives will no longer be as understanding as they were at the end of the summer, because the situation is different now. Then the Romanian economy had dropped more than expected and it was obvious that conditions had to be re-negotiated – and I’m referring mainly to the budget deficit target. Now the situation is different given that the decision lies with the government. We are no longer talking about external factors that affected the Romanian economy”.
Romania has concluded a two-year stand-by accord with the IMF worth 12.95 billion euros, out of which it has so far received two payments, the third one being due in December. The total foreign loan package provided by the IMF, the EU, the World Bank and the EBRD stands at 19.95 billion euros.
The talks with the international financial institutions are taking place against the backdrop of a deep political crisis in Romania. The chances of a new government being formed by the new PM designate, Lucian Croitoru, proposed by President Traian Basescu, are almost null given that more than 65% of the Parliament members are hostile to the new PM. 12 of the 14 ministers proposed by Lucian Croitoru, who were heard by the parliamentary committees, have been rejected. Furthermore, the leftist Social Democratic Party, the right wing Liberal Party, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and the ethnic minorities, which have voted the no-confidence motion against the Boc government, have announced they will continue to support Klaus Johannis, the mayor of Sibiu (a town in central Romania) for the position of PM. They have also reiterated their intention to reject the ministerial team proposed by the PM designate Croitoru on November 4th when the Parliament vote is scheduled. On the other hand, Romania’s national currency the LEU continued to depreciate exceeding, this week, the psychological threshold of 4.3 lei per one euro; this is the highest exchange rate reported over the past 8 and a half months.
The Central Electoral Bureau in Bucharest has validated 12 candidates for the presidential election of November 22nd in Romania and rejected 15 for non-compliance with the legal requirements. Running in the presidential race are the incumbent president Traian Basescu, supported by the Liberal Democratic Party, Mircea Geoana, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, the Liberal Crin Antonescu, the Ethnic Hungarian Kelemn Hunor, the representatives of the two populist parties in Romania, George Becali and Corneliu Vadim Tudor, two ecologists, three independents among whom the current mayor of Bucharest Sorin Oprescu and the representative of the Socialist Alliance Party. Running as the main favourites in the presidential race are Traian Basescu and Mircea Geoana.
Several hundred animal breeders from across Romania protested on Wednesday in Bucharest against the government’s failure to pay the promised subsidies. The farmers claim that the failure to pay subsidies might cause the sector to go bankrupt. The protesters have had talks with the interim ministers of finance and agriculture as well as with the Romanian President and have received assurances that they will receive part of the money in the first half of November. A solution is going to be found regarding the payment of the rest of the money by the end of the year. President Basescu promised the protesters to do his best so that the government should find a solution, by next Wednesday, for the payment of the second tranche of subsidies in December. The animal breeders have announced they will protest in the street each Wednesday until they get the promised subsidies.
The number of swine flu cases is on the rise in Romania. Almost 440 cases have been registered so far with the severest forms of flu being reported this week. The greatest number of cases was reported in schools in the North Eastern Romanian town of Iasi and in Bucharest. Several tens of swine flu cases have also been reported in the town of Cluj, in the center.
Also this week the Romanian Foreign Ministry has inaugurated the first diplomatic mission of Romania in the Palestinian territories. The diplomatic representation office was opened in Ramallah, the West Bank. The secretary of state for global affairs within the Foreign Ministry, Doru Costea, has more:
“This office will provide consular assistance to the Romanian citizens who live in the West Bank; another aim of the office is to continue and diversify the dialogue between Romania and the Palestinian Authority”.
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