Romanian President Traian Basescu today night announced austerity measures designed to bring the country's deficit in line with International Monetary Fund (IMF) guidelines, dpa reported. The fund that pays civil-servant salaries is to be slashed by 25 per cent, while pensions and welfare payments are to cut by 15 per cent each, Basescu said after meeting with an inspection team representing the IMF, European Union (EU) and World Bank. Romania's administration is still oversized, Basescu noted. "It is as if a fat man - that's the state - is sitting on the back of a thin man - that's the private sector," he said. Additionally, 16 state assistance programmes, such as heating subsidies, are to be capped and better coordinated. The three institutions had granted Romania an emergency loan of 20 billion euros (25.4 billion dollars) in the spring of 2009 to help it overcome an economic crisis. The credit was tied to savings by the government. Romania now plans to negotiate further measures with the IMF, EU and World Bank delegation by Sunday. Among the items to be discussed is whether Romania will be allowed to exceed the current budget deficit limit of 5.9 per cent of its gross domestic product, media outlets reported.
