Basescu presented a series of economic indexes, explaining that Romania will most probably continue to report a negative economic growth in the second quarter of the year, which means recession. The president stressed that, according to estimates, the downturn will be significant, of 6.5 – 7 percent on the minus.
Basescu also said the unemployment rate will stand around 5.6 – 6 percent and explained that the main reasons for the drop in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) are the decline of the industrial production and of the construction sector together with reduced consumption.
However, the head of state appreciated the government has succeeded in maintaining the main fiscal parameters, like the flat tax at 16 percent and the value added tax (VAT) at 19 percent.
The president assured the Czech businessmen that Romanian banks are in an acceptable state of health as none of them has asked for help from the state budget so far.
Basescu informed the businessmen the Romanian executive inked the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Commission (EC) as a safety net, generating a monetary flow towards banks.
Moreover, the Romanian president urged the Czech businessmen to invest in agriculture and agrotourism.
