Contacts: In Bucharest – Iolanda Stăniloiu (40 21) 201 03 24
istaniloiu@worldbank.org
In Washington – Michael Jones (01 202) 473 2588
mjones2@worldbank.org
BUCHAREST, November 6, 2009 - A World Bank mission visited Romania from October 28 - November 6, 2009, together with the teams of the IMF and European Commission at the invitation of Romanian authorities to assess the performance and prospects of the reform agenda under the multilateral support package for Romania. The World Bank-supported Development Policy Loans are part of this package. The second Development Policy Loan (DPL2) is centered upon the implementation of structural reforms that promote fiscal sustainability, social protection and financial sector stability.
The World Bank team commends the strong efforts of the Romanian Government towards achieving the agreed reform agenda. Progress is particularly noteworthy in the area of social assistance, especially with respect to reducing poverty of families with children, by better targeting fiscal resources to reach the poorest. Discussions also made important progress in other key areas of DPL2, including pension reform, public expenditure planning, health sector and financial sector reforms.
Several reform measures supported by the DPL program require now legislative actions. As the present political situation does not allow for these legislative measures to be taken, the World Bank team will return to Bucharest once program can be further advanced.
“The World Bank fully supports the important reform agenda Romania has embarked upon,“ said Swati Ghosh, DPL task team leader. “At the same time the World Bank team recognizes that implementation of reforms in the present political circumstances is particularly challenging, but would like to stress the critical importance of continued structural reforms to establish fiscal sustainability and restore economic growth,” she added at the conclusion of the WB mission in Romania.
The Development Policy Loans (DPL) program, amounting Euro 1 billion, focuses on public financial management, the social sectors and the financial sector. The first Development Policy Loan, totaling Euro 300 million was approved by the Board of the World Bank on July 16, 2009, signed on September 1, 2009, and disbursed on October 20, 2009. The DPL reform agenda supports policy measures and structural reforms to achieve fiscal sustainability in Romania and uphold the recovery process, and closely complements programs supported by the IMF and the EU.
For more information, please visit:
www.worldbank.org/ro
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