The government has obtained the permission of the International Monetary Fund to exceed expenses set initially, but one of the conditions is the cutting of budget spending by the equivalent of 0.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), mainly by reducing ordinary acquisitions and by sending employees on a ten-day unpaid leave. But the application of the unpaid holiday is delayed, and the government is putting more pressure on the deficit, with state guarantees worth €264 million for the RAFO refinery or loans of €187 mln for the National Company of Highways and National Roads. Thus, the budget deficit in 2009 seems to be nearing the 8.1 percent level, initially observed by the IMF, rather than the 7.3 percent target Romania committed to reach.
Exceeding expenses in some sectors means cutting costs in others: part of the payments are days behind schedule, the funds for medications are used for paying salaries in hospitals, the pharmacists already know that they will not be able to collect their invoices for six months, and professors hope that a source of funds will be found for next month.
Romania needs €3.5 billion for the last two months of this year, according to Prime Minister designate, Lucian Croitoru. This means that in just 10 months, Romania spent the amount initially budgeted for the whole year.
