Protocol in Parliament: How the money was spent in the first six months while austerity is planning over the country / differences from last year

In the first six months of the year, the Parliament spent over 2 million lei (the equivalent of 400,000 euros) of the amount allocated for the protocol, respectively of the 6.4 million lei (1.2 million euros). This percentage means 30% of the amount allocated, which is lower than last year. How were the money between the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies and why were the biggest expenses for?

• The head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery, Mihai Jurca, revealed, in July, that the prices paid by the government for certain products for the protocol activities are even double compared to those found in stores for the same products. Hotnews wanted to find out how the money for the protocol is divided and how they are spent by the two Houses of Parliament.

In the Senate, in the first six months of the year, over 803,000 lei were spent for protocol activities, out of a total of 3.7 million lei allocated for the whole year.

“From the amount spent in the first 6 months of the year,” protocol tables “(parliamentary diplomacy activities), offered to foreign delegations coming on work visits, amounted to 397,781.21 lei. In this amount, official tables, accommodations, translations, rented vehicles, symbolic gifts, symbolic gifts, etc. are included.

The Senate states that they were spent with 1.3 million lei (38.05%) less than the same period last year.

The Chamber of Deputies spent in the first 6 months of the year “for the protocol tables offered to foreign delegations coming to official visits to the Chamber of Deputies” the amount of 225,599.18 lei excluding VAT, according to the response to Hotnews.

The President of the Chamber of Deputies spent three times more than that of the Senate

6,000 lei in the first six months of 2025 for the protocol expenses of the PNL president of the Senate, while the Chamber of Deputies spent 19,000 lei for the PSD president, that is, more than three times more.

The Senate of Romania was led in the first six months of this year by Ilie Bolojan (December 2024-12 February 2025 and May 26-June 2025) and by Mircea Abrudean (interim president instead of Bolojan and currently full president, after the vote received in plenary in June).

During this time, for the protocol expenses of the president of the Senate, 1,000 lei were spent a month, which leads to a total of 6,000 lei in the first six months of 2025.

“The activities of parliamentary diplomacy are presented by the senators and decided, as an opportunity, within the Permanent Bureau of the Senate, depending on the level of the action, as well as in accordance with the specific scale approved by decisions of the Permanent Bureau. They are drawn up, both technically and economic, estimates of the expense, which are subjected to the Secretary General”.

How to explain the difference of the Chamber of Deputies

HotNews also asked the Chamber of Deputies how much money was spent in the first six months of the year for the protocol activities of the Chair President.

“From the amount spent in the first 6 months of the year, for the protocol activities at the level of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, the amount of 19,702.04 lei without VAT was spent,” the answer shows.

The President of the Chamber of Deputies in the first six months of the year was Ciprian Șerban, from the PSD, the current Minister of Transport. From June 24, the place was taken by the interim leader of the PSD, Sorin Grindeanu.

“The amounts differ depending on the type of actions the two presidents had,” the representatives of the Chamber of Deputies said for Hotnews, when I asked why there is such a difference between the offices of the two presidents.

Subsequently, the Chamber of Deputies stated that the “highest share of this amount” had “the expenses occasioned by offering an official breakfast to a Bipartisan delegation of the US Congress”. In April, 8 members of the US Congress came on an official visit to Romania-four Republicans and four Democrats.

“We mention that both deputies and senators participated in this official breakfast, the expenses being fully borne from the budget of the Chamber of Deputies,” the institution says now.

The Chamber of Deputies pays 3 lei for a bottle of water to 2 liters. The Senate did not offer the amounts

Hotnews asked both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate to provide details about the net price with which it buys products for protocol activities. The Chamber of Deputies sent the following information:

• Borsec water (0.33l – 2.40 lei, 0.5l – 2.20 lei; 1.5l – 2.84 lei; 2l – 3.24 lei);
• Tchibo coffee (500g – 56.54 lei; 250g – 20.75 lei);
• Juices (slot 0.5l – 7.42; cola 0.5l – 7.42; Sprite 0.5l – 6.95 lei);
• Tea twinings envelopes – 18.71lei box;
• Glasses (100ml – 0.42lei/pcs; 180ml – 0.36lei/pcs).

The Senate did not provide details about the price at which certain products buy: “The prices and quantities of the products purchased for the protocol activities, at the Senate headquarters, are registered globally value”, the institution said.

Specifically, this means that the Senate does not keep track of each purchased product, but only holds the amount spent for all the products, in one place.

“In 2025 no purchase contract was concluded for the products intended for protocol activities,” the Senate said.

Protocol budget, halved compared to last year

HotNews asked both from the Chamber of Deputies and from the Senate the budgets of the two institutions for the protocol expenses of 2024.

The data show that the budgets for this year have been almost halved from last year:

• Budget Chamber of Deputies for protocol expenses, last year: 5,850,000 lei;
• Budget Chamber of Deputies for protocol expenses this year: 2,679,000 lei;
• Senate budget for protocol expenses, last year: 6,006,000 lei;
• Senate budget for protocol expenses this year: 3,786,000 lei.

“According to the execution of the budget of the Chamber of Deputies, at the end of 2024, we inform you that the total amount allocated to the protocol expenses for the whole year 2024 was 3,872,000 lei,” the Chamber of Deputies said.

The amount “also included the expenses for the organization of cultural-social and protocol events in the margin of the 31st annual session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (AP OSCE), hosted by the Parliament of Romania between June 29-July 3, 2024”.

“These were carried out in accordance with the customs, the traditions of the APSCE AP, and the number of participants, including those involved in the organization (approx. 1000 persons) being assumed by the Romanian side in relation to the organization,” the institution said.

The Senate also stated that of the amount of 6 million lei allocated for 2024 were spent 5.8 million lei.

Who decides how much money they receive the two chambers of Parliament for protocol activities

“The activities of parliamentary diplomacy are presented by the senators and decided, as an opportunity, within the Permanent Bureau of the Senate, according to the level of the action, as well as in accordance with the specific scale approved by decisions of the Permanent Bureau. They are prepared, both technically and economically, estimated motto, which are submitted to the general authority, which are submitted to the general authorizing officer Senate ”, according to the Senate.

The Secretary General of the Senate is, from September 2022, Mario Ovidiu Oprea. In the past, in the period 2004-2020 he was a senator for four mandates, chosen every time on the PNL lists.

The procedure regarding the approval of the protocol expenses is also similar to the Chamber of Deputies.

“The authorizing officer of the institution, respectively the Secretary General of the Chamber of Deputies, submits to the approval of the Permanent Bureau the protocol actions and approves the expenses incurred with them”, according to the institution.

At the Chamber of Deputies as interim Secretary General is Ioana Bran-Voinea, from October 2024.