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President Klaus Iohannis had better worry about the 2017 national budget within a reasonable timeframe so that Romania may get a budget this year, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu Dragnea, also the national leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD, ruling), said Tuesday. He added that he discussed with Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu the meeting on Tuesday at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace and heard later on the president's statements on the 2017 national budget.
"It is the president's right to analyse, but there are various reasons popping up to delay the publication of the budget. This country needs a budget. They previously had a discussion at the Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT) meeting concerning the budget of some organisations and they agreed there were no problems with the operation of those organisations. The budget has been analysed by the committees and passed by Parliament. I believe in the sustainability of this budget. (...) The budget is balanced and sustainable; it includes what we decided in the election campaign, and I said there will be 2 percent for defence spending to keep the deficit below 3 percent (...) In the end, should the president worry, he had better worry within a reasonable timeframe because we would like for Romania to get a budget this year, because the operation of many institutions hinges on it and in the end the economic growth of the country as well. If reasons to delay the coming into force of the budget keep popping up, then problems will indeed arise," Dragnea said at Parliament Palace.
Asked for his take on European Commission's recent forecasts for Romania reading economic growth of just 4.4 percent and a budget deficit of 3.6 percent in 2017, Dragnea pointed out that the Commission had its share of worries in the previous years as well.
