IMF leaves without seeing 2011 budget approved, new tranche won't be released until next year

The Government has failed to convince the IMF to agree to tax cuts or relax the budget deficit, either, next year, but undertook new reform commitments.

Romania will go through the winter holidays without the next 900 million-euro tranche from the IMF that will not come any sooner than January because the Government got new tasks it will have complete by then.
The 2011 budget draft, the main stake of the negotiation round with the IMF, which has just ended, has not been finalised, with the Government left to discuss with the unions over the minimum wage issue.
At the same time, yesterday's statements of Jeffrey Franks, the head of the IMF mission, reveal that the authorities were unable to get the decision to cut social contributions and/or the flat tax as of January 1 accepted, as the ruling coalition would have liked.
"Constant modifications of the tax structure are not productive and we strongly recommend the authorities to maintain stability, especially after the very harsh measures taken," Franks stated. He would not say what the solutions discussed with President Traian Băsescu on Sunday night were, but Premier Emil Boc said the head of state was "really helpful" for a fair agreement in the future. Both parties hinted that the negotiations were really tough, despite the light-hearted atmosphere in Cotroceni when the talks began.