The proposals of Kelemen Hunor to reduce state spending. “A lot of privileges are with them. There can improve things.”

UDMR president Kelemen Hunor listed, in an interview for Digi24, the sectors in which the Romanian state can save on the reduction of the budget deficit. He invoked the elimination of privileges for some categories of state employees, as well as postponing investments.

Referring to the cutting of bonuses, Kelemen Hunor said that the measure should first of all concern civil servants at the level of central and local authorities, not budgets such as education or healthcare employees. “A lot of privileges are with them. There can improve things in terms of expenses and services,” said the Union leader.

He gave the example of the antenna and privacy increase among the ones that can be given up. “If you went to this area you should not get extra money to keep the secret of the service,” Kelemen said, referring to the privacy increase.

He also pronounced to reduce the expenses of the county councils and the mayors showing that there are very large differences between the expenses per capita made by one CJ and another.

“We will need a new wage law until the end of the electoral cycle because many have introduced all the bonuses in the basic salary,” said Kelemen Hunor.

Another source of savings is to rethink the special pension system. First of all, the beneficiaries' retirement age must be increased, after which the amount of pensions can be recalculated. “The CCR said that you can walk there but it must be by law, not by the emergency ordinance,” said the UDMR leader.

He admitted that savings will have to be done by renouncing, at least temporary, to some investments. “These are those investments that in the coming years do not increase the standard of living. We can give up building stadiums for two or three years,” Kelemen exemplified. He also said that the state could give up supporting the purchase of photovoltaic panels, since there is a problem with the storage of energy thus obtained.

Then, smaller investment projects could be given up, but it is preferable to be still unstoppable as the projects stopped after their realization can create additional costs or justice disputes.

Although Kelemen spoke about the cutting of “extravagant” expenses, he pointed out that investment cuts should be made cautiously. “Yes, we must also cut from investments in the first part, but if we cool the economy we will not have income. You will not be revenue and you will not have income,” argued the president of the UDMR.

As for taxation, Kelemen said he would leave the unique share at 10% and a tax of 16% on dividends and profit. The UDMR supports maintaining the unique share because it is one of the factors that make Romania attractive for investors and because it is necessary to strengthen the middle class.

“I would increase VAT from 19 to 21% and leave VAT low for food and medicines,” said Kelemen Hunor.