Today, the Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in  Romania and Bulgaria, Mr. Guillermo Tolosa, issued the following statement:

“The signing of the 2014 budget by President Traian Băsescu is a welcome step. To  secure the budget’s deficit target of 2.2 percent of GDP, measures will need to be adopted that compensate for the revenue shortfall from postponing the excise  increase on fuel products by three months.

The authorities have asked to discuss such measures in January with IMF staff with a view to combining the first and  second reviews of the economic program supported by a Stand-By Arrangement.

An IMF mission is planned to visit Bucharest in January.“