Romanian Minister: Draft budget ready in January for next IMF visit

Romania’s draft budget will only be available in mid-January, when the next visit of the International Monetary Fund IMF is scheduled, but talks on the budget with IMF technical experts will start next month, according to the Romanian Minister of Finance, Ioana Petrescu, reports local Mediafax. An evaluation mission of the agreement with the IMF and the European Commission will arrive in Bucharest around January 13, 2015, so the draft budget will be completed at that time with representatives of the two institutions, before signing the letter of intent. Petrescu said that Romania’s current agreement with IMF continues and will end mid-2015, while the letter of intent in January will be a normal step in the agreement. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com