World Bank board approves EUR 1 billion loan for Romania

The World Bank’s board of executive directors has approved a loan of EUR 1 billion for the Romanian state for policy development with an option to defer the drawing

July 2012 - From the Print Edition

The loan comes in addition to the bailout granted for 2011-2013 by the IMF and EU. The Romanian authorities may choose to use some or all of this money or not to resort to the credit line.
The government reached agreement with the World Bank over the loan in mid-May. Through the deal negotiated with the lender, the Finance Ministry seeks to obtain an additional safety net from international institutions in the form of a credit line, which will remain available to Romania for three years if foreign markets are blocked, at a cost of 0.25 percent per year.
Romania is implementing a precautionary agreement with the IMF amounting to EUR 3.6 billion, based on a similar agreement with the European Commission for available funds of EUR 1.4 billion. Agreements with financial institutions are part of a financing program of EUR 20 billion over 2009-2011. Furthermore, the government of Norway will give Romania a grant of EUR 306 million over 2012-2014, designed for companies that use clean technologies. “The program aims to reduce waste production and emissions in air, water and soil, increase business opportunities in the clean economy, increase use of environmentally friendly technologies and create new jobs in the green industry and entrepreneurship,” said officials from the Ministry of Economy.