President Nicusor Dan tries again to ease tensions within the governing coalition

President Nicusor Dan is trying again on Tuesday to ease tensions within the governing coalition, which have been growing, especially over the issue of magistrates' pensions. The head of state invited the presidents of the governing parties to Cotroceni, a few hours before a coalition meeting at which the new formula for changing the pension system for prosecutors and judges should be finalized. Other delayed coalition projects are also on the agenda.

Oana Bala is at the Cotroceni Palace: "President Nicusor Dan does not believe that a definitive solution will be found at today's meeting at the Cotroceni Palace regarding the reform of magistrates' pensions, but he believes that steps will be taken forward in this regard. However, the head of state expressed his hope that the situation will be resolved by the end of this month.

If the special pension reform is not adopted by November 28, Romania risks losing a considerable amount from the National Recovery and Resilience Program. The Romanian president also explained that this is, in fact, an administrative problem, because due to a past political decision, magistrates' pensions were higher than their salaries, and now they are equal to them, which is absolutely unnatural and must be corrected.

On the other hand, says the head of state, it is not normal for magistrates to become a kind of scapegoat and be the subject of political campaigning. The discussion convened by President Nicusor Dan with the coalition leaders comes in the context of the Constitutional Court publishing the reasoning behind its decision to reject the government's bill to change magistrates' pensions. The law was declared unconstitutional because the executive did not wait for the opinion of the Superior Council of Magistracy.

The coalition leaders will also discuss with the president the draft budget for next year, as well as administrative reform."

Translated by: Radu Matei