By Henrietta Billings - 22nd August 2005
Romania’s prime minister Calin Tariceanu has dismissed the country's finance minister and three other cabinet ministers from his centre-right coalition.
In a bid to speed up reforms ahead of the country’s forthcoming EU entry, ministers for health, finance, EU integration and the deputy prime minister were all sacked on Monday.
Finance minister Ionut Popescu, who was also the country’s chief negotiator with the IMF had come under fire for plans to raise VAT from 19 to 20 per cent from 2006.
Popescu will be replaced by finance minister adviser Sebastian Vladescu.
Former Transport minister Anca Boagiu will take over from Ene Dinga as EU integration minister and Eugen Nicolaescu, a senior Liberal Party MP, becomes health minister.
Deputy prime minister Gheorghe Seculici was replaced by Democrat Party member Gheorghe Pogea, Reuters reports.
The prime minister’s reshuffle comes ahead of an October European Commission report on Bucharest's accession progress.
The report will be critical in determining whether the country’s reform process is on track to meet the 2007 entry date.
If not, Bucharest’s EU accession will be subject to a “safe-guard” clause which could see entry delayed until 2008.
The Romanian government has been working on a host of anti-corruption and judicial reforms – demanded by Brussels as part of strict EU entry criteria.
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