MIRCEA GEOANĂ WARNS "In autumn we will have a gap in the budget!"

Romania will experience a difficult financial and economic moment in autumn, in the months of September-October, but there are positive signs that the economy will begin to recover starting next year, the chairman of the Social Democrat Party (PSD), said yesterday, in a press conference in Sibiu.

"It is obvious that the second semester will be extremely difficult", said Geoană, quoted by Agerpres, who emphasized that it is mandatory that Romania meet the requirements needed to qualify for the second installment of the loan granted by the IMF and the EC, especially as the public budget will have a "hole" in it in September-October.

The president of the PSD emphasized that the Romanian government must put to good use the presence in Bucharest of the officials of the International Monetary Fund and of the European Commission.

The leader of the PSD said: "Economic figures and the state of the budget show that the second half of the year will be difficult. The need to cover the growing deficit will almost certainly require that Romania take the steps that would allow it to qualify for the second installment of the foreign loan. (...) That is why we must take advantage of the fact that the IMF and EC mission is in Bucharest these days, and I call upon the Romanian government and on the ministers of the PSD and of the PD-L alike to come with solutions for meeting the IMF conditions".

Geoană said that he will meet the IMF envoys on Thursday.

According to the leader of the PSD, there are signs that the economy of the United States of America might recover in the third quarter, and about nine months later, the economic recovery could begin in Europe.

Mircea Geoană said: "Finally, there are some better news from America. There are estimates that the economy could enter recovery in the third quarter. The drop of the American economy for the second quarter was only 1%. Economic theory says that when economic recovery begins in America, it takes about three quarters, in other words about nine months, for the European economy to receive these signals of economic recovery".

• It"s tempting to create animosity between public and private sector workers

The chairman of the Social Democrat Party, Mircea Geoană, said that there is also the temptation to create animosity between public and private sector employees.

The leader of the PSD said: "I want to comment this tendency to create hostility between the private sector workers and public sector workers. It is obvious that that the public sector is oversized. It is obvious that there is a lot of bureaucracy and many times there isn"t enough efficiency. And I"ll admit there is a lot of frivolous spending. But I think it would be wrong to start a new war in society, like it happened the previous years, with the retirees and the youngsters, with countryside people and those living in cities, between private sector and public sector employees".

Geoană said that the state should assist people that do their job honestly, saying that every job saved in these difficult times is "pure gold".

"It will only be up to us as a society, as an economy, as a government, regardless of whether or not they are part of the government or of the opposition, to weather this difficult moment and keep the hope that things will turn for the better", the leader of the PSD.

• Investigation commissions need evidence

The chairman of the Social Democrat Party, Mircea Geoană, estimated that commissions for investigating ministers should only be created if serious evidence exists.

Mircea Geoană said: "If there are clear factors, serious clues concerning illegal actions, than obviously the Parliament will need to take notice automatically. But creating one commission after another just to create a media events, this is not something that can be taken seriously. I"m not referring to Mr. Berceanu here, it could be any minister, a minister of the PSD, from the PD-L or a former minister of the PNL. In the cases that made the headlines lately, there was significant evidence which would allow the beginning of an investigation. There won"t be a commission to investigate Mr. Berceanu unless there is clear evidence".

The statement of Mircea Geoană comes as several politicians have suggested the creation of parliamentary investigation commissions for all the ministers of the Boc government.

Mircea Geoană: "Economic figures and the state of the budget show that the second half of the year will be difficult ".