Recuperarea unei datorii istorice. Negocierile financiare dintre Marea Britanie şi România comunistă (1960-1975)
Reclaiming a Historical Debt. Financial Negotiations between the United Kingdom and Communist Romania (1960-1975)

Summary/Abstract: This article explores the course of the negotiations between the United Kingdom and Communist Romania for the recovery of the historical debt that the government in Bucharest owed to the British one. The controversy started in 1948, when, against the background of the nationalization of the British oil companies, the Romanian state did not offer compensation and refused to pay the loan it had contracted during the interwar period. At the beginning of the 1960s, in the context of détente and motivated by mutual economic interests, Romania and the UK sought a solution for this financial dispute. It took them almost 15 years to reach a compromise. The protracted negotiations and deadlocks were mainly caused by the leadership in Bucharest not wanting to repay this historic debt. Specific political and economic interests allowed Romania and the UK to achieve an agreement in December 1975. As a result, Nicolae Ceauşescu gained access to British technology, favorable loans, increased exports as well as the promise of a state visit to London. In its turn, the British government secured a massive presence in the Romanian market, especially in the oil sector.

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