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The acting chair of the Senate, Alina Gorghiu, stated that a meeting of the governing coalition is necessary "as soon as possible" to determine the percentage for the planned increase in pensions in 2023, the PNL (National Liberal Party) calculations revealing that for an undifferentiated increase in the pension point by 15%, the budgetary impact would be somewhere around 18 billion lei, told Agerpres.
"We want the increase in the pension point to cover the inflation rate, we want this increase to ensure the purchasing power of pensioners. Both the prime minister, myself and our colleagues are very concerned about the way in which this problem will be solved in the coalition. We wanted this discussion [which took place in the National Standing Bureau of the National Liberal Party - editor's note] to lead to a standpoint to be afterwards supported by the party in the coalition, so that we would be able to convince our colleagues that pensions must be increased by a percentage as high as possible. (...) The calculations made by the Liberal specialists show that the budget deficit is not affected if a 15% increase in the pension point is reached," Gorghiu stated, on Monday, at the Senate.
She underscored that, in 2022, there were higher receipts in the budget and that "there are resources for this increase, as the National Liberal Party wants."
"We want a meeting of the coalition as soon as possible. (...) I think we have enough arguments to reach an undifferentiated increase in pensions, according to the law and our Constitution. The coalition will be the one to have the last word, however, and I repeat, we will talk with the numbers on the table," added Gorghiu.
The PNL Senator once again drew attention to the fact that the issue of special pensions, a milestone in the PNRR [National Recovery and Resilience Plan - editor's note], must be resolved by the end of the year.
