Lucian Croitoru is designated Prime Minister by President Basescu

President Traian Basescu has designated Lucian Croitoru for Prime Minister on Thursday. Romania's President said in a statement made at the Cotroceni Palace that his decision meets the desire that the future prime minister should be member of no political party. Nevertheless, he will have to be politically endorsed, Traian Basescu stressed.

'My option for Mr. Croitoru was generated by the fact that we need a premier competent in macroeconomic issues, both on a national and global level,' he explained.

Lucian Croitoru has said at the Cotroceni Palace (presidential headquarters) that he will do his best to fulfill his duty.

He has pointed out that on the short-run, the Govt's priorities are to organize free and democratic elections in November and to continue the financial and economic projects with the international institutions.

Getting closer to the living standards in the EU, is a long-term priority, Croitoru has said

Prime Minister-designate Lucian Croitoru unveiled his main short and medium-term priorities, underscoring the importance of Romania meeting its financial commitments before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union.

'An obvious priority in the short run is holding democratic elections, as it has happened for the past 20 years, but equally important in my opinion is continuing our financial and economic commitments to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial institutions,' said Croitoru.

Croitoru said that in the evening he will go to the headquarters of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) and the Government House to discuss with BNR Governor Mugur Isarescu and acting Prime Minister Emil Boc, respectively.

I will leave for the National Bank of Romania, where I hope to have a conversation with the governor, after which I will go to the Government House for a probably longer conversation with acting Prime Minister Emil Boc to be updated on all the details of the economic programme of the Government,' Croitoru told a news conference at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace after being designated the new prime minister by President Traian Basescu.

Croitoru is adviser on monetary policy affairs to Governor of the National Bank of Romania Mugur Isarescu, with an 11-year seniority at the BNR and wide expertise in drawing up and implementing monetary and fiscal policies as well as expertise in business restructuring. He is a PhD in economics, a graduate of the Bucharest School of Economics (ASE); he also attended courses at the Economics Institute at Bolder, the University of Colorado; the London School of Economics and Political Science; the Oxford University, the Centre for Central Banking Studies, and the IMF-Joint Vienna Institute.

September 2003 - July 2007 he was senior adviser to the Executive Director for Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Israel, the Netherlands, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine.

agerpres.ro