The Government establishes the Investment and Development Bank

The government is establishing the Investment and Development Bank on Thursday, a project postponed for more than 10 years and considered a missing link for the realization of the country's strategic projects, as Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu expressed in the opening of the executive meeting.

The head of government announced record budget receipts in October and says that, if the pace continues, Romania will fall within the deficit target agreed with the European Commission.

40 billion lei is the ANAF collection in October, which is a record, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said at the beginning of the government meeting, explaining, at the same time, that the state institutions are more determined in applying measures to combat tax evasion, measures which bring additional money to the budget for other priority areas:

Marcel Ciolacu: Eliminating the evasionists who steal tens of billions of lei annually is the key to obtaining the necessary funds for pension increases, for education, and for health. We have made it very clear that there will be no new taxes next year. I want only one thing in return, I want those who didn't pay up to now, those who defrauded the Romanian state, to pay their taxes.

The absorption of European funds from the 2014-2020 financial year is another priority, the prime minister said, and in this sense, an emergency ordinance with procedures will be approved, which will allow the programs related to this financial framework to be closed on time, and the adopted measures will also allow the increase of the rate of absorption to over 90%.

Also today, the executive will approve the act establishing the Investment and Development Bank of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu also announced:

Marcel Ciolacu: This bank represents the missing link between the money of international financial institutions and Romania's strategic investment projects. We will thus have the appropriate financial instruments for the projects that the country's economy really needs.

The head of the executive also asked the ministers, in the context of the preparation of the future budget project, to prioritize their projects, announcing that important projects, such as the "Hot meal" program for schools, will not be abandoned.

Translated by: Radu Matei