MEP Dan Nica: Romania is fiscally susteinable, according to EC's Country Report

The half-year country report released by the European Commission confirms that Romania is not facing short-term sustainability risks, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Members of the European Parliament leader Dan Nica asserts in a Wednesday release. 

"The Commission's country report is conspicuously contradicting all of the lately fake, scaremongering news alleging that Romania would have no capability to pay pensions and salaries! I know this is unsatisfactory for the presidential propaganda, but here we have an EU official document saying very clearly that our country does not face economic imbalances. Furthermore, according to the EC's report, Romania is macroeconomically speaking less exposed to risks than other countries, such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Italy or Spain," the MEP says, according to the said release. 

According to Dan Nica, the driftage from the medium-term budget targets (MTO), signaled out by the European Commission's report, represents one of the "many counterperformances" generated by the 2016 gov't (the technocrat Dacian Ciolos gov't, ed. n.). 

"Although the Ciolos gov't stayed at rule for only one year, we are still fighting the malfunctions from that period. For instance, the technocrats of Dacian Ciolos took over the noted MTO at minus 0.6 pct of the GDP and left it at minus 2.6 pct of the GDP! That is well outside the 1.6 pct of the GDP recommended bound! And we, naturally have to make efforts to correct this matter. It is very curious how the presidential propaganda does not notice this. The same way it says nothing about the fact that the Ciolos gov't, reputed for its European behaviour, could only draw 0 (zero) European funds!" MEP Nica stressed. 

The European Commission on Wednesday recommended Romania to adjust the significant deflection from the adjustment trajectory to the medium term budget target (MTO), to ensure total enforcement of the fiscal framework and improve the voluntary payment and tax collection, the EC's country recommendations due to be adopted by the EU Council say. 

The EC has issued a warning to Romania and also recommended that it take the necessary measures to ensure that the nominal growing rhythm of gov't spending does not exceed 3.3 pct of the GDP in 2018, which would match a 0.8 pct of the GDP annual structural adjustment.