Parliament/No-confidence motion/Dancila: Each Romanian must have freedom to decide where to keep their pension money

Prime Minister Viorica Dancila stated on Wednesday, in the Parliament, that each Romanian must have the freedom to decide where to keep their pension money. 

"The issue of nationalizing Pension Pillar II has never been raised nor could it be raised because the funds accumulated there belong to Romanians, and the right to property is guaranteed by the Constitution. What we want is for each Romanian to have the freedom to decide where to keep their pension money and I find it difficult to understand how it is possible for a party claiming to be a liberal to militate for the lack of choice, the imposition by the state of the place where the money should be kept. The issue of dismantling or nationalizing the Pillar II has never been raised, and it would not have been technically possible," Dancila said at the debate on the no-confidence motion against the Government, signed by the National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR) and People Movement's Party (PMP). 

Dancila said that the insinuations there is no pension money anymore and that the nationalization of the Pillar 2 is wanted represents the most serious misinformation in the no-confidence motion. 

"I can understand up to a point that the opposition's purpose is to challenge what the power is doing. I can understand the political schemes you are doing in this respect, but I draw your attention to the fact that for pensioners it is not a game for you to say that there is no more money for paying pensions until the end of the year. For a pensioner, whose health or even life depends on their monthly pension, it is not a game when you are lying to them there is no pension money anymore. It is an irresponsible lie and please stop lying to the pensioners. You embarrassed yourself when you foretold that there would be no more pension money after November. How long do you want to persist in this lie? " she asked in the Parliament. 

The prime minister also said that the Government is not responsible for the trend of inflation, which is under the "care and responsibility" of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said on Wednesday in the Parliament. 

"The Government is not (...) responsible for the trend of inflation. You know that this is under the care and responsibility of the National Bank of Romania, which, in fact, officially admitted that the inflation we are discussing was not generated by governmental policies," Dancila declared at the debate on the no-confidence motion.