“A new IMF agreement would lend credibility to Romania’s economic policy,” Isarescu told a news conference Wednesday, adding it would also help the country get cheaper financing from international markets.
He said all the aspects of a new agreement are subject to political decisions, especially in light of parliamentary elections next year and the fact that a new agreement would be taken over by a future government.
“The need for external financing can be controlled, I don’t see an agreement focused on the balance of payments but rather on problems left unsolved, such as structural reforms,” the central bank governor said.
Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici said Tuesday Romania will officially ask the IMF for a new loan agreement this year and negotiations will focus on implementing structural reforms rather than reigning in the country’s budget deficit.
Romania’s precautionary IMF agreement expired on September 26. The country has reached its economic indicator goals but has missed structural reform targets, Guillermo Tolosa, IMF Resident Representative in Romania, said mid-September.