IMF Says Will Send New Review Mission To Romania In Jan

The International Monetary Fund will send in January a new mission to Romania to assess the country's performance in meeting the terms of a EUR20 billion IMF-led aid package, IMF official Jeffrey Franks said Tuesday.

Speaking after a meeting with Romanian interim Finance Minister Gheorghe Pogea, Franks said the IMF will release a new EUR1.5 billion disbursement to Romania shortly after the review mission concludes its report, provided the country adopts the 2010 budget.

The IMF official didn't rule out the possibility that Romania will receive the third and fourth loan tranches simultaneously, but said the move must be discussed by the Board.
A team of IMF experts arrived in Bucharest Monday for a three-day visit to hold technical talks on the country's draft budget for 2010, one of the Fund's requirements to disburse new installments to Romania.

Romania and the IMF have reached an agreement on the 2010 budget and the authorities in Bucharest should send the draft to parliament for approval shortly, Franks said earlier Tuesday.

The eastern European country received nearly EUR7 billion from the IMF so far and was scheduled to get another EUR1.5 billion by year-end. However, IMF said in November that it would delay any new disbursements until the country has a proper government in place.

mediafax.ro