The government intends to take responsibility for public administration reform before February 1

The government intends to take responsibility in Parliament for local and central public administration reform, together with economic recovery measures, before February 1.

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said that this will be a new test for the Executive, given that a motion of no confidence may be tabled.

Both projects will be finalized next week.

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan stressed that the measures targeting the administration ensure, among other things, an increase in the own revenues of local authorities and a reduction in personnel expenses in town halls with too many employees.

Ilie Bolojan: Local government in Romania collects much less from its own revenues than the average for European Union countries, being highly dependent on transfers from the state budget. If we had these transfers as funds, it would not be a problem, but Romania transfers these funds by borrowing, in part, amounts for which we pay quite high interest rates.

The Social Democrats have requested, and the governing coalition has approved, that, along with the reform of the administration, the government also take responsibility for measures to revive the economy, which include increased tax credits and other incentives to stimulate new investment.

Sorin Grindeanu, PSD leader: We cannot just talk about cuts and reductions if we want the PSD to be in this coalition. These are absolutely normal measures, measures that have no impact on the budget. You cannot reduce the deficit by cutting investment and reducing purchasing power. You reduce the deficit in the right way by increasing economic growth.

The package of measures for economic recovery will be finalized next week.

Translated by: Radu Matei