Draft budget under debate
After a month and a half since the start of the new year, Romania finally has a draft budget
Bogdan Matei, 12.02.2021, 14:00
The draft state budget for the current year is based on a deficit of around 7% of the GDP and, according to the coalition Government, will support economic recovery and stop excessive and ungrounded spending from public money. Liberal Prime Minister Florin Cîţu promises a resettling of the economy, also by fixing what he calls the abnormalities introduced in the legislation, in the last four years, by the former Social-Democratic administrations, as well as maintaining the trust of the European Commission, foreign investors and rating agencies. He has also stated he is waiting for detailed reports on the situation of state-owned companies, including plans to restructure those that have reported losses.
In the budgetary system, the head of the Government has also said, the expenses representing bonuses amount to around 600 million lei, the equivalent of 120 million euros. In pandemic conditions, with very high health expenditures, the amputation of these bonuses would block the haemorrhage of funds, the Government says, giving as an example the so-called computer bonus or the COVID bonus, accounting for 30% of the base salary, which is received by prefecture employees. The package of austerity measures also stipulates that childrens allowances remain unchanged, pensions will increase only from January 1, 2022, this year there will be no more holiday vouchers, and students will no longer benefit from complete free rail transport.
From the opposition, the Social Democratic Party, which has the largest parliamentary group, has already announced that it will table amendments for all important chapters in the draft budget. The Social Democrats accuse lack of vision and solutions for the current issues. It is a budget of austerity, of cuts, it is not people-oriented and does not give good signals for the economy – the leaders of the left say.
Beyond the disputes between politicians, austerity measures threaten to escalate tensions in society. Since the beginning of the year, the headquarters of the Executive, of ministries or parties have been picketed, practically, every day, by dissatisfied trade unionists. Nurses, police staff or prison guards, locomotive drivers or civil servants, all demand decent salaries, fair pensions, quality public services.
The leaders of one of the biggest union federations in the country, CNS Alfa, say Romania needs a development budget, not an austerity one. Operators in the HORECA industry, already affected by the restrictive measures adopted due to the pandemic, are not at all happy with the announcement that no more holiday vouchers will be issued this year. The Employers Organization of Hotels and Restaurants in Romania talks about losses of about 7 billion euros in 2020, in an area that employs 400 thousand people, ie 7% of Romanias active workforce, and produces 5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. (M.I.)
