Romania's first house buying program could continue next year, prime minister says

Romania's government will keep financing the first house buying program "Prima Casa" next year if it proves successful, declared the Prime Minister Emil Boc.

He said that the first signs are positive and that even before the program was officially launched, banks had gathered about 10,000 requests for loans nationwide.

Effects should span from the unblocking of the crediting to the nurturing of the constructions field, an important contributor to the Gross Domestic Product.

Boc also stated that he would talk to bank officials and ask them to speed up the loaning process for companies, as leaving the private sector to the will of bank employees is unacceptable.

The Cabinet chief also addressed the agriculture issue. He said governmental guarantees and European funds worth 13-14 billion euros will be used to sponsor entrepeneurs in the field, so that the internal market can ensure the necessary meat and milk production. To that end, he asked the agriculture minister to complete the reform strategy as soon as possible. Romania now imports 70 percent of its groceries, according to Boc.

Lastly, the Prime Minister mentioned that Romania's top priorities are now the investments in infrastructure and the absorbtion of European funds. About 20 percent of this year's budget is to fuel the infrastructure.

Romania closed a deal with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and other international bodies for a 20 billion euros loan. The first installment from the IMF, of 5 billion euros, was received at the end of May and the first 1.5 billion euros from the EC could come on July 28.

NewsIn