Senate Chairman Mircea Abrudean on Wednesday said that the measures taken by the government are the solution for Romania not to collapse, adding that the second package of measures, which includes special pensions and the reform of the boards of directors, will be adopted in two to three weeks.
"We are in the situation that we all see in this coalition, based on the real figures that the Ministry of Finance presents, that there is no other solution for Romania so that it does not collapse but these measures, this package number one, which will take effect immediately, and the package 2 of measures, which will follow," Abrudean told B1TV private broadcaster, agerpres reports.
Abrudean explained that the first package of measures could be corrected in the second, if it is found that "it is an unfair one."
"The idea was to try to get as much money as possible in the shortest possible time. That was the formula. Surely it can be corrected, if it is found to be unfair. We have the 2nd package of measures, which can correct any kind of error of the first package of measures. They came in a very short time. In two weeks' time, the government had to come up with all these measures, taking into account the initial discussions, taking into account the governing agenda, the coalition agenda, and all the debates there. That was the solution agreed upon and, apparently, validated by the external partners. I'm not just talking about the European Commission. I remind you that ECOFIN, yesterday, confirmed that it is the right course, because they finally see that measures are being taken, not just promised. We are also talking about foreign markets, we are also talking about the interest rates at which the state borrows, which have started to decrease," Abrudean said.
He added that cutting taxation on gambling winnings from the initially suggested version was necessary because "the industry could go very far into the black market and decrease even more the money that should reach the state."
According to Abrudean, "there are beneficial effects for the Romanian economy, due to this package of measures that is more or less contested and disputed."
"Obviously it is an unpopular one, obviously I don't think Ilie Bolojan is the man who wants to be booed. (...) Package two comes in two-three weeks, because there was no time to correct these unjustified actions."
Referring to the measures suggested by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) for the second package of measures, Abrudean stressed that they will be discussed.
"I find them common sensical. They were discussed before. They were also discussed in the working group with the country's president, who tried to come up with a set of measures, from which they were also taken over. In fact, including in this package. Certainly, the reform of special pensions is essential and very urgent. And Prime Minister Bolojan also announced that it will be part of package two, as well as the reform of the boards of directors, the number of members of the boards of directors, the unjustified allowances, their correlation with the profitability of the companies. All of them will be part of package two, which will come shortly. Because there was no time in these two weeks to be able to correct what has been done unjustly, let's say, in many years. All these benefits, these privileges have been built up over years. The legislation has been permanently amended, many pieces of legislation have been issued, one on top of the other, some complement the other. You can't change that in two weeks," said Abrudean.
Comentează