IMF mission arrives today in Romania for third review of the stand-by agreement

A mission from the International Monetary Fund IMF is expected to arrive today (June 2, 2014) in Romania, for the third review of the stand-by agreement. The mission, headed by Andrea Schaechter, will stay in Romania until June 16. It will be joined by teams from the European Commission and the World Bank, IMF's Regional Resident Representative in Romania and Bulgaria, Guillermo Tolosa, said in a statement. During the visit, the mission will meet with Romanian authorities, with representatives of political parties, unions, business associations and banks. One of the most important topics to be discussed with the Romanian authorities is the possibility to reduce the social security contribution CAS by five percentage points starting mid-year. The IMF mission will also analyze the budget execution for the first five months, as well as the outlook on growth and revenues to the state budget. The new stand-by agreement of EUR 1.98 billion was approved in September last year by the executive board of the IMF. The new arrangement has a duration of two years and the Romanian authorities intend to treat the arrangement as precautionary. Romanian authorities also said this is the last deal with the IMF and the European Commission. At the end of March, the IMF finished its first and second reviews of Romania’s performance under its economic program linked to its two-year stand-by arrangement. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com