The FINANCIAL -- Romania on Monday said the IMF and the European Union have delayed an assessment mission to the end of July when a vote on the controversial impeachment of the president is over.

"This is a normal procedure.

The IMF and the European Union do not want to come here during an election campaign", Prime Minister Victor Ponta told a news conference.

He said the evaluation team, originally scheduled to arrive on July 24, is now expected in Bucharest on July 31.

Ponta also said his government would submit to the IMF five measures to spur growth, including incentives for firms hiring under-25 and over-55 year-olds.

Romania is undergoing one of the worst political crises since it emerged from a long-lasting Communist dictatorship in 1989. The new centre-left ruling coalition has launched an impeachment procedure against the centre-right president Traian Basescu who is now suspended.

A referendum is due on July 29.

Romania, one of the poorest EU countries, obtained a 20-billion-euro rescue package from the IMF, the EU and the World Bank in May 2009, in exchange for drastic spending cuts.

The austerity cure helped it emerge from two years of severe recession. Its economy grew by 2.5 percent in 2011 and expected to go up by 1.5 percent this year.

According to EUbusiness, during its previous mission to Bucharest in May, the IMF called on Romania's new government to stick to cautious fiscal policies.

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