World Bank could lend Romania EUR 400 million in September

The World Bank could grant Romania a loan of EUR 400 million in September, according to the chief economist of the World Bank Office in Romania, Catalin Pauna. “The payment depends on the Parliament’s approval of the co-payment in the health system, the Government’s progress in implementing the unified wage law and approval of reforms on public expenditure for the next three years.”, Pauna said. Romania has signed in late March a new preventive agreement with the International Monetary Fund, for two years, with a value of almost EUR 3.5 million and 300 percent of the share that Romania has at the international financial institution. The agreement will be accompanied by a preventive support of EUR 1.5 billion from the European Union and a loan of EUR 400 million from World Bank. Romania also signed in the spring of 2009 a standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund, which was part of a financial aid package of around EUR 20 billion with the EU Fund, World Bank and other international financial institutions. The program ended in March, 2011. Alex Camburu, alex.camburu@romania-insider.com