PNL and USR accuse PSD of blocking the reform of the administration / USR asks why there is a need for economic recovery if “we had the Marcel Ciolacu I and Marcel Ciolacu II governments”

The governing coalition has not yet reached an agreement on the adoption of the local public administration reform. After taking around 6 months to settle the measures, the coalition now has to overcome a new roadblock and decide in what form the new law will be passed: taking responsibility in Parliament or by emergency ordinance. PSD is accused by the governing partners from PNL and USR of delaying the adoption of the reform.

The coalition will have its next meeting on Friday, when, according to HotNews sources, the governing parties will decide whether to go to Parliament with the assumption or whether the reform of the administration will be adopted by emergency ordinance. This means that the earliest the draft can be adopted is next week.

The PSD conditions the adoption of the reform of the local and central administration on the adoption, at the same time, of the “economic recovery measures” that it proposed last year.

USR: PSD “conveys the image that it is not a serious party”

The PSD announced that, in addition to the economic recovery package, it will demand that a “solidarity package” be adopted along with the adoption of the budget (which will take place at the end of February, according to the coalition's current plans).

USR Senator Ștefan Pălărie accuses that the PSD's new requirement is clearly an attempt to postpone the reform of the central and local public administration.

“It seems to me that it is rather a gesture of much less good faith than you want to promote it. Let's not forget that we are like in that movie: why don't you have a beret? If you have a beret, why don't you have a scarf? In such a way that we endlessly find conditions and reasons for procrastination. August, we are already in February and look at the fact that we were not able to close this package,” said the USR senator in Parliament on Monday.

Pălarie says there has always been flexibility in the coalition: “That's exactly why we've delayed some reforms, but we've also adjusted some spending cuts packages, everyone knows that.”

“I agreed with the package, but we condition it either on the economic recovery package, or we condition it on another solidarity package. In my opinion, this is already far too much. And it conveys the image that PSD is not a serious party”, declared Pălărie.

“These procrastinations of PSD colleagues can lead to implosion and a nuclear form of no longer having functioning town halls”

Ștefan Pălărie draws attention to the fact that postponing the adoption of the state budget may lead to an “implosion” of town halls in the country.

“The longer we postpone the state budget law, the more the town halls have to operate with a very small share of expenses for the operation of the apparatus. Until they can no longer function. So, these procrastinations of PSD colleagues can lead to implosion and a nuclear form of not having town halls that function anymore, maybe except for some that were on budget surplus,” said the senator on Monday.

Regarding the economic recovery package insisted on by the PSD, the USR senator said that “we had the Marcel Ciolacu I and Marcel Ciolacu II governments after the Nicolae Ciucă government. So if it was all good, why are we relaunching?”.

“It's clear, it was a malicious question, I apologize to my PSD colleagues, but the truth is that we must continue to govern responsibly”, Ștefan Pălărie also declared.

PNL: “This reform was not delayed for other reasons, but exclusively for the lack of PSD support”

PNL Vice-President Alexandru Muraru claims that his party expects “a clear and unequivocal statement” from the PSD “by which it can assume support for the Government's rapid assumption of responsibility before the Parliament for public administration reform”.

“This reform was not delayed for other reasons, but exclusively for the lack of PSD support. The reform of the public administration is provided for in the government program and should have been assumed as early as September,” Muraru wrote on Facebook on Monday.

“It has already been 5 months, 150 days, during which the discussions were procrastinated. This situation can no longer be tolerated. For almost half a year, the PSD has been postponing a reform that is deeply needed by Romania. The time of populism and political patronage has passed. Romania can no longer function on the basis of inefficient and oversized administrative structures,” according to Alexandru Muraru.

The vice-president of the PNL says that Romania “is on a powder keg, and the implosion will occur sooner or later, but with much higher costs than if we act now, responsibly and courageously”.

“The PNL is ready to take responsibility. The PSD must decide whether to support the reform or continue the deadlock,” the PNL leader concluded.