Romania owes German contractors EUR 100 million, PM Ponta admits the country's reputation for paying bills is poor

Romania isn't so great at paying its bills, according to German investors in the country. The Romanian state currently owes some EUR 100 million for work carried out by German firms. Also among the list of complaints German investors made to Romanian PM Victor Ponta during his visit to Germany were the lack of motorways, the high levels of bureaucracy in administration and the reimbursement of VAT. “Return of VAT is a major problem, because when you work and you're not paid for it, it is very bad news,” said PM Ponta at a conference at Deutsche Bank in Berlin, which was on the schedule for the PM's visit to Germany. He added that employers that pay late are failing to fulfill their obligations. “Unfortunately, now, the Romanian state does not have a good reputation as a good employer or partner,” said PM Victor Ponta, quoted by local news agency Mediafax. The Romanian PM announced that some progress has been made, citing the EUR 800 million provided to the healthcare system for the payment of its debts and the reduction in the value of outstanding payments due to German companies from EUR 250 million in 2012 to the aforementioned EUR 100 million this year. The PM also added that a new bill had been passed whereby local municipalities that fail to pay their debts to contractors can be declared insolvent. editor@romania-insider.com photo source: PM Victor Ponta on Facebook