The Strategy, ready to go to Brussels

(story to be published in tomorrow’s issue, March 20)

The Government on Thursday evening adopted the national medium-term economic development Strategy and the document is to leave for Brussels accompanied by a political statement of support signed by all leaders of parties that have representatives in Parliament. According to Premier Mugur Isarescu, the document is to be detailed between March 20-May 15, when the 17 “heavy files” will be discussed. These files represent disagreements that occurred during discussions linked to the Strategy, among which the issue of public utilities. “The fact that now, in a situation not quite easy for us, we are capable of reaching this point of consensus, of having this text on difficult issues, on economic problems, is more than encouraging,” Isarescu also said. The draft of the Strategy includes five chapters, of which the first is “the current state of the Romanian economy,” as well as an “addenda,” namely “The Programme for year 2000.” The content of the other chapters is generally similar to the content of the draft the public opinion is already acquainted with. In order to reach “consensus,” direct reference to liquidations of enterprises and restructuring within the domain of public utilities that trade unions expressed opposition against was eliminated. The issue of public utilities is approached in a single sentence: “the modernisation of public utility services to the end of making them as adequate to citizens’ needs and the national economy as possible, with a view to a gradual adjustment to the standards of European economy.” For the year 2000, the Strategy proposes a cut down in the activities developed by non-profitable enterprises, so that the use of their production capacities should get to 80 percent. The Government estimates for this year a smaller fiscal burden on the economy by about 1.5 percent of GDP. The document specifies that the state’s international reserves should go up by 900 million dollars this year, and the National Bank is to publish new regulations for monetary policy operations. Regulations for the functioning of credit cooperatives are also had in view for this year. The targets of inflation and economic growth are the same, namely 27 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. Revenues policy stipulates observance of the correlation between the increase in net salaries and labour productivity, as well as monitoring salaries within regies, national companies and loss-making enterprises, according to performance criteria. General objectives mentioned in the introductory part are an annual growth rhythm for GDP of 4-6 percent after 2001, limiting down budgetary deficits to about 3 percent of GDP, reducing inflation so that in 2004 it should be a single digit figure.