President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday announced that he will be sending back to Parliament the 2019 State Budget Law for reexamination.
"I will send back to Parliament for correction and improvement the 2019 State Budget Law.
The message is simple: make a healthy budget for Romania! Parliament has the opportunity, but first of all, the responsibility to make the necessary corrections quickly so that the budget is really one for the development of Romania," Iohannis stated at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace.
He did not wish to comment on the Constitutional Court's decision on the State Budget Law, but he underlined that the 2019 budget was based on false figures and named it again a budget of "the national shame."
"Beyond the constitutional aspects, the budget remains one based on false figures, on money that the Government does not actually have, wrongly drawn up against all the major objectives of the Romanians. In short, it remains the budget of the national shame. The weakest Government in post-December 1989 history, a PSD Government of imposture and incompetence, has drawn up a budget to suit it. The budget for 2019 is built on a fantasy scenario, with no guarantees as regards its implementation, as confirmed by the European institutions and other international institutions. It is a budget that questions the observance of international treaties to which Romania is a member, but, unfortunately, also the legislation in the field," said Iohannis.
Iohannis also argued that the budget presented by PSD and voted by the PSD majority was designed to "serve primarily the political interests of a small group".
"PSD pursues an agenda that has nothing to do with the economy, neither with the Romanians nor with the real development of the country," said Iohannis.
He once again criticized the fact that the budget provides for an "enormous" increase in the amounts allocated to the parties, with the highest amount to go to PSD.
"We are cynically told by PSD that there is no money to increase children's allowances on time," added Klaus Iohannis.
The president also criticized the budget allocated to investment.
"We see how PSD leaders and propaganda obsessively repeat that this budget is one of the investments and that the main beneficiaries are the local communities, but in reality the PSD budget provides for a significant reduction in investment expenditures in local budgets. It provides for a sum of 1.2pct. It is the lowest value of the GDP share in the last ten years, and the investments announced for 2019 are by 1 billion [lei] smaller than those of 2018. This is the large investment budget that cuts 1 billion, but I am asking: who stopped PSD from making major investments as early as two years ago when it rose to power? Why is it that since 2016 the whitening of PSD leaders' files continues to be the zero priority for them instead of building motorways and hospitals?" said Iohannis.
He reiterated that PSD governing has failed. "If PSD is not able to govern for the citizen, then it should leave power and leave it to others who can do it. PSD is the only guilty for all these budget delays," said Klaus Iohannis.
On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court of Romania rejected the challenge of President Klaus Iohannis to the 2019 State Budget Law, establishing that the normative act is constitutional.
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