President Nicusor Dan said on Friday that he does not believe a referendum on the issue of magistrates' pensions is necessary.
'I believe that a referendum should be held when society is having a genuine debate, when there are clearly defined and opposing opinions on a given topic. Regarding magistrates' pensions, such a debate does not exist within society. We all agree that it is abnormal, in any field of activity, for a pension to equal a salary, it effectively encourages people to retire when they could still contribute to society. There is no debate on this issue, neither within the political class nor in society at large,' he explained.
The head of state said that, in this situation, 'there are certain nuances.'
'You can never settle nuances through a referendum. There are nuanced issues such as how long the transition period should be, or the ratio between pension and salary, and these need to be resolved through discussion among the relevant stakeholders, including representatives of the magistrates,' Nicusor Dan pointed out.
He said that a new discussion with members of the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) is needed.
'Following the Constitutional Court's decision, another such discussion is necessary. As for magistrates' pensions, it is a problem, it is an expectation of society, and we must resolve it in a balanced way once and for all,' said Nicusor Dan.
The head of state also mentioned that he would participate in a CSM meeting after presenting a report on the situation of the judiciary.
Regarding political debates on this topic, he added: 'I think this back-and-forth of statements goes much too far. We have a problem to solve. Each of the parties in the coalition must contribute to solving this problem, in order to meet an expectation that society has. It is good for all political actors who are part of this coalition to behave institutionally and in line with the expectations of the Romanian people.'
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