Romania offers Moldova $65m loan to spur reforms

Romania's prime minister offered Moldova a loan of 60 million euros ($65 million) on Tuesday to prevent economic collapse in the impoverished ex-Soviet republic — if certain conditions are met, AP reported.

To get the money, Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said Moldova will have to reform its justice system, fight corruption, sign a draft agreement for a loan from the International Monetary Fund and appoint a new central bank governor.

The offer comes as Moldova, Europe's poorest nation, is on the verge of economic collapse following the disappearance of more than $1 billion from three Moldovan banks, one eighth of the entire GDP of the nation.

Ciolos made the announcement during a visit to Romania by Pavel Filip, the sixth prime minister to hold office in Moldova in a year of political turmoil and deep social unrest sparked by the bank fraud.