IMF wants low inflation and financial discipline

The IMF mission has once again asked the Government to prioritise the inflation cut and recommended the adoption of a more restrictive fiscal policy, the Fund’s negotiator for Romania Neven Mates said at the end of his meeting with PM Adrian Nastase.

Mates said IMF was clearly against “initiatives that may cause disruptions in the fiscal system.” PM Adrian Nastase specified he could not verify the existence of incompatibilities in Romania’s ties with the IMF.

“IMF is not the enemy, bent on causing trouble for us, but an institution with its own ideas and economy rules,” Nastase explained.

The IMF official explained that discussions with Romanian authorities focused on the 2001 draft budget and on the main issues of the macroeconomic policy, as well as “on issues that may be addressed in the programme to be part of the future arrangements.”

Mates specified that IMF attaches considerable strength to financial discipline in state-run companies.

“We have quickly reached an agreement on certain issues, while others will keep being addressed in talks with the Government over the next few months.

The reason why we are here again is precisely the active communication we have with the Romanian authorities,” Mates said, highlighting that talks were carried out against the background of the Romanian economy recovery.