Romania, Former ‘Mediocre Student,’ Gains IMF’s Confidence
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Romania has reversed its image as an economic “mediocre student” after the government weathered no-confidence votes and protests to adhere to International Monetary Fund demands for spending and job cuts, said the IMF’s mission chief to the Balkan country.
The second-poorest European Union member after Bulgaria probably will complete in April its 13 billion-euro ($17.4 billion) bailout loan, the eighth accord with the IMF since the 1989 fall of communism, so it can win a precautionary standby agreement, said Jeffrey Franks in a Dec. 14 phone interview from the Washington-based lender’s headquarters.