Construction sector employers demand urgent meeting with Prime Minister following new fiscal measures

The Federation of Construction Companies' Employers (FPSC) requests an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, considering that minimal solutions must be identified following the new fiscal and budgetary measures, which deeply affect the construction sector.

"FPSC warns of the serious and immediate risks generated by the new fiscal and budgetary measures proposed by the Romanian Government, which deeply affect the construction sector. The organization, representative at national level for this field, requests an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, in order to identify minimal intervention solutions that would allow the survival of as many companies as possible, in the current difficult economic context", FPSC representatives say in an open letter addressed to the Prime Minister.

The employers' federation states that it expresses its support for the need for fiscal consolidation and supports structural reforms aimed at streamlining public administration, combating tax evasion and digitizing the state apparatus. However, it draws attention to the fact that some of the proposed measures risk blocking construction activity, including in the case of projects financed by European funds and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), with a negative impact on the deadlines and budgets assumed.

Among the most pressing problems, in the FPSC's view, that construction companies, especially SMEs, are facing: blocking works by suspending the financing of the Anghel Saligny program, without taking into account the physical stage of execution; the impossibility of invoicing works already carried out, due to excessive bureaucracy, while execution continues at the request of the beneficiaries; financial blockages that push companies towards insolvency procedures, also affecting the collection of budget revenues.

Also, other problems refer to: the increase in labor costs, as a result of the elimination of tax facilities previously granted to the construction sector; the reluctance of banking institutions to grant financing, due to the increased risk perceived in the field; major risk of layoffs and accelerated migration of specialized labor to foreign markets; the possibility of market monopolization by companies with international affiliations, to the detriment of independent Romanian companies.

In this context, FPSC proposes two measures to the Government: the emergency provision of financing for works already executed, but not invoiced, in order to allow the continuation of priority projects established at the governmental level; creating a guarantee ceiling and facilitating access to credit for construction companies involved in strategic projects, with an interest rate capped at a maximum of 2% annually, until their completion in 2026.