The reform of the public administration was stuck in the coalition and after today's meeting. What is the dissatisfaction now

Although the subject of the cuttings in the public administration has been on the table of the Coalition leaders for two months, on Tuesday's meeting, a final agreement has not been reached. This was expected to happen, after last week the PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR leaders had taken a step forward. However, new reasons for heated accounts and discussions occurred.

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The meeting, at the end after three and a half hours. Without final agreement

Even in the meeting on Tuesday the leaders of the Coalition were able to agree on how the public administration reform should be made. The discussion will be resumed on Monday, even though today's meeting was expected a final decision, according to HotNews.

The misunderstandings have started this time from the fact that the PSD wants to give the mayors free to choose between staff cuts and salaries expenses, sources from coalition say.

However, there is a consensus, to which they reached last week, regarding the percentage of discounts – 10% of the total employees of the local administration.

The ordinance that blocks the expenses has the mayors and CJs, reason for dissatisfaction

Those present at the meeting also had a dispute on the topic of the Emergency Ordinance 52/2025 which block several expenses of the town halls and the county councils. Bolojan sent to those present at the coalition meeting that the GEO will be reviewed, say the coalition sources for Hotnews.

The ordinance was adopted in the meeting of the Executive on October 1 and concrete, stipulates that the county mayors and councils will no longer be able to give money, until December 2025, on:

• Furniture;
• Office equipment;
• Mobile phones and additional subscriptions;
• Cars and fuel (except for emergency cases);
• Non -essential inventory objects (new office features, decorative equipment);
• Prints and advertising (leaflets, brochures, advertisements, media campaigns);
• Protocol (festive meals, receptions, gifts);
• Organizations of events without external financing;
• Consultancy and expertise;
• Internal and external trips (except for strictly mandatory);
• Studies and documentation not invalid by law;
• Current repairs.

City Halls will be able to spend more money for salaries, bonuses, contributions, utilities, the operation of educational institutions, dispensaries and mayor, for health, social assistance, for emergencies – such as ISU interventions, banking services, compulsory IT, tax collection.

The association of communes and cities draws attention to the fact that between October and December 2025, payments for “goods and services” cannot exceed the monthly average of payments made from January to September 2025, to which 10%are added.

The mayor of Craiova, Lia Olguța Vasilescu, drew attention on Monday, after the PSD leadership meeting on the ordinance.

“We asked the GEO 52/2025 to be revised. There we talk about the fact that by the end of the year we can no longer make repairs. We can no longer prepare the roads for winter,” said Olguța Vasilescu.

She also said on Monday that the ordinance prohibits feasibility studies and expertise and that in the Government meeting on October 1, the project was read quickly before and adopted.

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The variant already discussed in the coalition involves for the local administration differentiated:

• Reducing 10% of the positions occupied in the county mayors or councils
• Reducing the expenses with wages

Therefore, locally, mayors and presidents of county councils will have to choose between dismissals or salary cuts. While the big cities, the municipalities could opt for redundancies, the town halls in the communes, where there are few employees would have the variant of salary cuts.

PSD also proposes a 20% limit for redundancies in each town hall.

Finally, regardless of the chosen version, over 12,000 people must be expelled, ie 10%.

The Social Democrats have requested that the reform of the local administration be made in pack with the availability from the center.

If in the session of last week the coalition was discussed the reduction variant with 10% of the salary tire and the merger, the abolition of institutions from the center, in a meeting that took place yesterday, the PSD leadership established that it will request the coalition with 10% of the employees.

In the meeting that will take place today from 2:00 pm the leaders would decide what the reform of the public administration will look. Then, it will be included in the third package of fiscal measures for which the Bolojan Government plans to adopt it all by committing the responsibility, according to sources.

Administration reform, intensely discussed

Initially, the reform of the local administration should have been part of the second package of measures meant to bring more money to the budget, but it was postponed because the PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR leaders failed to reach a consensus.

The discussions about the cuts in the mayors continued at the Cotroceni Palace after the Government has committed responsibility for the second package. President Nicușor Dan convened the leaders to discuss the administration reform and had established that by September 15 he would reach a consensus in the coalition, which did not happen.

Then, asked in a press conference at the end of September about the stage of the administration reform, the head of state said that “the problem is vast, with many aspects”, but that it is necessary for the system to be balanced.

“If we look at the entire local and central administrative system, we see that there are areas where there have to be out of the system, such as areas where more people in the system need, for example on the public security part. We need to balance the system,” said Nicușor Dan.