Austria: Romania and other Eastern countries might push us into bankruptcy

Luni, 16 februarie 2009, 1:38 English | Regional Europe

Eastern European countries like Romania might contribute to Austria's bankruptcy, newspapers in Vienna read. Too proud with their economic performances, governments seem too sure that the economic crisis will avoid them. This is why, Austria's plan to protect its banks is regarded with suspicion and lack of interest, which could lead to a disaster.

Last week, Austrian Finance minister Josef Proll visited Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria and Ukraine. The main conclusions remitted after the tour are widely commented across newspapers on Sunday: if Austria intervenes to save Eastern banks, the internal budget will be overburdened and Austria will fall prey to bankruptcy.

Austrian analysts read that Romania is a top problematic area due to its high current account deficit and the high debt rates of the population for euro credits in particular.