Bucharest, Jan 5 /Rompres/ - The top priorities of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) in 2008 are fiscal consolidation, the cut in the budget deficit voted in Parliament and the increase in the absorption rate of the European funds, Romanian Minister of Economy and Finance Varujan Vosganian announced.

MEF estimated for 2008, in the budget bill, a maximum level of the budget deficit of 2.7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Ministry estimates an economic growth of 6.5 percent this year, bringing an increase in the GDP by 438.6 billion lei (some 138 billion euros), an inflation of 3.8 percent and a deficit of the current account of 13.3 percent.

In terms of the budget for 2008, Vosganian believes it reflects the economic growth of the country in the latest years.

'This is a generous budget, significantly higher than last year. We are quite content with the fact that most of the Government's requests were met. The budget, as it is now, after having been adopted, is in line with the general macroeconomic trends, maintains a deficit under 3 percent and, in an electoral year, MEF will make all the efforts to maintain such limits,' Vosganian said.

Romania's state budget for 2008 is built on a deficit level worth 2.7 percent of GDP, corresponding to a level of the state revenues of 186.2 billion lei, 42.3 lei of the GDP respectively.

With regards to the financial relationship with the European Union, the relevant authorities have announced Romania recorded a surplus standing at 500 million euros in 2007. Last year, Romania received 1.6 billion euros from the EU (of which 845 million euros pre-accession funds, 421 million euros structural funds and 315 million euros Schengen benefits respectively, while Romania paid 1.1 billion euros to the European community budget.

With regard to the car registration fee, MEF is to draw up by the end of January, a normative act including the calculation model that takes into account the correlation of the fee value with the value of the car on the market.

Another priority of MEF in 2008 will be to provide the fiscal administration a computer network as well as to issue state bonds worth 110 million euros, with a maturity of one year, to be closed in late 2008.

According to Vosganian, the MEF will continue to pay attention to the foreign deficit, in the context the National Commission for Prognosis estimated a current account deficit worth 13.4 percent of GDP for 2007, and 13.6 percent of GDP for 2008 respectively.

'We have to continue to pay attention to the components of the current account deficit,' Minister Vosganian said.

According to him, the upward trends in economy and the foreign investments continued in 2007.

The foreign investments estimated for 2007 stand at more than 7 billion euros (...). With 2006 and 2007 having been the years with the most significant development in the Romanian history, Vosganian said, considering the macroeconomic evolution was better than inflation and that it would have been less significant if there were not for the drought last year.

[Source: l'Agence nationale de presse roumaine ROMPRES ]