Financiarul

who worked and contributed must receive on a regular basis their pensions, but in case the wage and pension system are not reformed, in ten years we risk a pension default, stated on Wednesday, on the public radio, Mihai Tanasescu, Romania’s representative to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and former Minister of Finance.

Another basic problem is if the pension system is sustainable on the long term because, according to statistics, the population’s number is dropping, the number of contributors to the pension system and to the state budget diminishes and the pensioners’ number is on the rise, explained Mihai Tanasescu.

He pointed out that currently the total wage expenditure in the public system account for almost 10 percent of the national wealth – it is a situation nowhere in the world.
Tanasescu also said that last year Bulgaria reported an added amount to the budget, of almost 2 percent of the GDP, whereas Romania concluded 2009 with a deficit of 5.3 percent.
“We also could have posted a surplus and today those mistakes made in the past must be remedied, even if such a correction is painful, because we cannot resist otherwise”.

In his opinion, now it is absolutely necessary “to restructure public expenditure, to revise it in the sense of a re-orientation towards segments which produce added value – public investments in road infrastructure, in health care, in education”.
“These are fair destinations and the public money can be used to boost the economic growth”, underlined Romania’s representative to IMF.

Talks between the Romanian authorities and IMF, World Band and the European Commission missions started in Bucharest on Wednesday in order to set up conditions for further disbursement of the installments as provided by previously signed loan documents.
If negotiations in Bucharest conclude successfully, Romania will receive this year 1.5 billion euros from IMF, 360 million euros from the World Bank and one billion euros from the European Commission.