PM Ponta: I exclude ending agreement with IMF, but a 0.9-pct deficit is unacceptable

Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Friday said that negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are under way and that he does not believe the ongoing agreement will be ended, although he finds unacceptable a deficit that is 0.9-percent of the Gross Domestic Product that the IMF demands.

'This is a time of negotiations. I have enough experience. Each time negotiations get tough. As we speak today, I believe no agreement with the IMF will be terminated. To me, as the prime minister, and to my Cabinet, a 0.9percent-of-the-GDP deficit is unacceptable,' Ponta told obiectiv.info in an interview.

The IMF has demanded Romania to bring its national deficit at 0.9 percent in 2015, but the Romanian Government argues that any deficit lower than 1.4 percent will be unacceptable.

'Romania cannot afford today to get below a deficit of 1.4 percent of the GDP. (...) My mandate is not to get below 1.4 percent, which is already too small and yet too demanding for today's situation in Romania. Any discussion of below 1.4 percent is unacceptable. If we started the negotiation at 0.9 percent cash deficit, we would get to a final kneeling of the Romanian economy,' Romania's Minister-delegate for Budget Darius Valcov told Antena 3 private broadcaster on Friday.

AGERPRES