Romania must adopt unitary pension law and pay hospital debts to get new IMF loan tranche

Romania must adopt the unitary pension system law and pay the debts of its public hospitals before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will release the sixth tranche of the loan agreed upon last year, Prime Minister Emil Boc said Monday. "There won't be any problems if we keep walking a straight line. The IMF board has the final say, but as far as we're concerned, we've done everything we needed to, for Romania first of all," said Boc. He also said the country's development is tied to the public sector's restructuring. The pension law was adopted by the Chamber of Deputies last Wednesday with 170 votes in favor, two against and three abstentions, after ten hours of debates and in the absence of MPs from opposition parties (Social Democratic, Liberal and Conservative), who had walked out. After the Social Democratic Party threatened to challenge the law before the Constitutional Court and after the session leader was accused of deliberately increasing the number of votes in favor, the Chamber's Standing Bureau announced Monday that it would retake the vote, if the plenum approves. Last year, Romania and the IMF signed a EUR 13 billion loan agreement, as part of a EUR 20 billion aid package which includes funds from the EU, the World Bank and other foreign lenders. The sixth tranche is worth EUR 914 million. Mediafax