This proposal is to go forward to the European Commission who have agreed to help fund the project. Romania should benefit directly from the re-opening of one of its major trading routes which has been severely disrupted since the Kosovo conflict. The Foreign Minister, Petre Roman, met with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Washington on Tuesday for wide ranging discussions. Albright pledged her support for Romania in its progress to join the Euro-Atlantic institutions . She agreed with Roman that Romania should take full advantage of the NATO Membership Action Plan to help the country to make progress in reform programmes for its military organisation and economy.
Roman is to make an official visit to France at the weekend.
A series of meetings with senior members of the French government have been arranged with the purpose of developing and strengthening the special relationship that already exists between France and Romania. The meeting examined the effectiveness of the 1999 budget and then concentrated on the budget for this year with particular reference to the governments policy regarding salaries paid to the armed forces. The IMF is expecting for a realistic budget and we want to establish such a budget. Government targets for next year are to limit inflation to 27 percent and to stabilise the exchange rate to achieve an average of 20,500lei to the US dollar. The Prime Minister, Mugur Is rescu, warned all Romanians this week that the reforms that his government were proceeding with would cause hardship .