The IMF delegation is made up of four members: Jeffrey Franks, Head of the Mission, Tonny Libek, Senior Economist – Fiscal Sector, Aliona Cebotari, Senior Economist – Real, Banking and Monetary Sectors, and Niko Alfred Hobdari, Senior Economist – External Sector. The visit will last for over a week, ending on 4 February.
“The conclusions of this evaluation could indirectly affect perceptions of foreign investors and even of Romania’s ratings. These will be made public once the evaluation has been concluded,” said sources close to the talks. The Romanian government will be submitting an unfinished budget to the IMF economists, drafted on the basis of macroeconomic indicators that are considered by analysts to be unrealistic (2.5 percent economic growth, 2 percent budget deficit, 5.5 percent unemployment, 5 percent inflation, and a RON 4/€1 exchange rate).
Ionut Popescu, State Advisor to Prime Minister Emil Boc on economic issues declared last week for Business Standard that Romania will go into recession this year, a statement that is in direct contradiction with official prognoses by the Ministry of Finance.
