Priorities of the Ciolos Cabinet
The first meeting of the Ciolos Cabinet on Thursday tackled some priorities outlined in the governing programme.
Valentin Țigău, 20.11.2015, 13:40
Romanias new Government Thursday convened for its first meeting. The Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos presented to his Cabinet members the administrative and legislative priorities for the forthcoming period. One of the most urgent matters is the endorsement of the 2016 budget bill. The PM emphasized that it was critical for this bill to move forward quickly, and to reflect the measures outlined in the governing programme. The Finance Minister Anca Dragu Paliu will have to come up with a first budget draft by Saturday, when the Government members are to hold an informal meeting.
The new Cabinet will also pay special attention to the reform in the public administration field, salary issues, preparations for winter and the progress in European fund absorption. As regards the organisation of ministries, Dacian Ciolos said that only five of them would be subject to changes of structure and minor reorganisation. The Labour Ministry, for instance, will also provide social dialogue services, whereas the new Ministry for Public Consultation, designed as a channel for direct communication with civil society, will have a separate structure.
Dacian Ciolos: “We have created a new Ministry for Public Consultation and Civil Dialogue precisely as an expression of the goal that this Cabinet is pursuing, that of opening up to civil society and public debate, to public consultation related to the Governments key projects, as well as of establishing a channel for direct communication with civil society.
Dacian Ciolos has also asked the deputy PM Vasile Dancu to prepare a more efficient and coherent framework for improving the work of public administration institutions. In fact, on Monday, at the Chamber of Deputies, Dancu will take part in a Question Time session devoted to the national programme on local development. The fast pace of changes is a common feature of the first 100 days of any new government, but according to the PM these changes should have effects in the medium and long run.
Dacian Ciolos: “I would like to prove to all Romanians that this Cabinet has started working, not just for the medium term, but also on the more urgent and topical issues. I would like to prove that we are in a position to meet the expectations that people have of us.
The technocratic cabinet headed by Dacian Ciolos was endorsed by a large parliamentary majority on Tuesday.
(Translation by: Ana Maria Popescu)
