A mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will come to Bucharest on June 2 for the third review of the stand-by agreement, which was approved in September last year, according to local Mediafax.

One of the most important topics to be discussed with the Romanian authorities is the possibility to reduce the social security contribution CAS by five percentage points starting mid-year.

The IMF mission will analyze the budget in the first five months, as well as the outlook on growth and revenues to the state budget.

The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved on September 27, 2013, a new stand-by arrangement for Romania, of EUR 1.98 billion. The new arrangement has a duration of two years and the Romanian authorities intend to treat the arrangement as precautionary.

At the end of March, the IMF finished its first and second reviews of Romania’s performance under its economic program linked to its two-year stand-by arrangement. Completion of the reviews made an additional amount equivalent to about EUR 436.3 million available for disbursement, bringing the total resources currently available to Romania under the SBA to an amount equivalent about EUR 654.4 million. IMF finishes Romania’s loan review, cites progress but warns of vulnerabilities.

Earlier this month, minister delegate for budget Liviu Voinea said that the current IMF deal is the last for Romania.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com