Premium
The head of the Executive, Ludovic Orban, stated on Monday that the National Liberal Party (PNL) desires an increase of the children allowances, but on the condition that it is a sustainable one, showing that at the moment money is not allotted to support the increase.
"PNL desires the increase, but a rational increase, which is sustainable, for which the money necessary exists and not an increase that would create grave imbalances, both at the level of the budget, as well as at the level of the different categories of aid, social or otherwise, in the public system. So the PSD [Social Democratic Party], although it passed a wage bill, after that, for certain categories, moved ahead the increase in salaries, which was supposed to be made in stages, a quarter [each year] between 2018 and 2022, this was their style of politics, to create certain advantages which in fact creates discrimination and takes on the shape of privileges for certain categories they wanted close," said Orban, after the meeting of the Executive Bureau of the PNL.
He announced that the PNL takes into account four options to punish the draft law of the PSD which passed in Parliament regarding the increase of the child benefit.
"We cannot accept this manner of lawmaking. We have four possible options: either complain to the CCR [Constitutional Court of Romania], or prolonging the term of entry into force, either a regulation that would provide, in the end, a rational increase of the allowances of children, which, I repeat, from January 1, have increased, on the basis of the draft submitted by the PNL, or we have another option, which would imply the procedure to commit the responsibility of the Government," Orban showed.
In the opinion of the Prime Minister, PSD is proving a "lack of responsibility" by increasing, once more, the child allowance.
"We have identified, practically, at the moment, four options. I'm being honest here and I've said it from the beginning: PNL introduced an amendment to the Law regarding the State Budget, in March 2019, by which the allowances were nearly doubled. Why did we do this? Because for a period of four years the PSD didn't increase the allowances at all. Moreover, another draft law adopted, also on the proposal of the PNL, forwarded by the Secretary General, Robert Sighiartau - allowances increase annually, in order to recuperate the purchasing power of the allowance, which is lost against inflation. So, practically, the allowances from January 1 are increasing by 3.8 pct. To come now, still in 2019, to impose a new doubling of the allowances for children shows a categorical lack of responsibility on the part of the PSD (...)," Orban mentioned.
The Chamber of Deputies, as the deciding chamber, voted, in December of last year, for a legislative initiative that provides for the doubling of the monthly allowance for children aged 2 to 18 - the sum reaching 300 RON, and for disabled children 600 RON.
