International press: Romania takes drastic measures cutting salaries and pensions to avoid Greek scenario

Romania is to adopt drastic measures, cutting pensions and salaries to avoid facing the same problems Greece does, AFP informs, while Financial Times comments that the measures President Traian Basescu announced on Thursday will deeply disturb the unions and the opposition.. Both BBC and The Financial Times, in an articles dedicated to Romania, mentioned the comparison Basescu made in the press conference: „The state sector is like a fat man of 200 kg sitting on the back of a 50 kg little man who is the real economy.”

AFP informs that Romania enjoys a significant financial aid programme from the IMF and the European Union, but that the country has announce a drastic cut in state-supported salaries and pensions in order to avoid a surge of the deficit similar to the situation in Greece.

The international press explains that Romania had to cut salaries’ fund by 25% and pensions’ fund by 15% in order to receive the next instalment of the 20 billion euros loan.

A Wall Street Journal blog says the IMF sent a communiqué immediately after President Basescu’s announcement, saying that this package has been developed by the Romanian authorities and has not been proposed by the IMF. The Fund’s mission to Romania’s capital will analyse the package in the negotiations to be resumed.