President Nicușor Dan believes that the warning issued by PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu regarding the vote on the laws in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) does not represent a blockade, but a negotiation tactic. The head of state says he is confident that the parties will reach an agreement and that the necessary reforms will be adopted.
While in Paris, Nicușor Dan commented in an interview with ProTV on the statements made on Monday by Sorin Grindeanu, who conveyed that PSD, currently in the Opposition, is not obligated to vote on the projects promoted by the Government.
Asked about the condition invoked by the PSD leader, linking support for the laws in the PNRR and the SAFE program to the departure of interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, the president stated that he sees the statement as a positioning in political negotiations.
"This is Mr. Grindeanu's way of saying that: 1. he is not part of this government and 2. that he wants to negotiate on these packages of laws. I am optimistic that, following discussions and negotiations, which are the essence of politics, we will manage to pass the PNRR package," said Nicușor Dan.
When asked if he interprets the message from the PSD leader as a threat, the head of state responded that he only sees it as a negotiation strategy.
Invokes previous collaborations
Nicușor Dan argued that, despite the political crisis, parties have managed to collaborate on important projects in recent months.
"I want to salute the fact that there has been collaboration on SAFE, there has been collaboration on PNRR, OECD, there has been collaboration between Western parties," the president stated.
In his opinion, these examples show that there are chances for the legislative package necessary to unlock the funds from the PNRR to be adopted in Parliament.
Grindeanu stated that PSD will not unconditionally support the Government
Nicușor Dan's statements come after Sorin Grindeanu stated on Monday that PSD, now in the Opposition, is not obliged to vote on the laws promoted by the Executive and suggested that it would be "an act of good faith" for Ilie Bolojan to step down from the interim Government.
"The strategy of the dismissed Prime Minister Bolojan to continue governing through Parliament and putting pressure on PSD votes is completely wrong," said the PSD leader.
Grindeanu emphasized that "PSD cannot agree to the use of the PNRR as a media smokescreen for the obscure interests of right-wing leaders" and argued that the party opposes changes that could be introduced in the milestone regarding integrity in public office.
Subsequently, interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan rejected this position and accused PSD of trying to condition the adoption of reforms crucial for Romania's EU funds. He recalled that the social democrats had previously supported the same commitments assumed through the PNRR and warned that the stakes involve billions of euros that could be lost if the reforms are not adopted in time.
The Government plans to convene Parliament for an extraordinary session in the second half of July to adopt the legislative package necessary to unlock the European funds in the PNRR and implement the SAFE program. Among the pending projects are the unified salary law, the public function law, the urban planning code, and other reforms assumed by Romania in its relationship with the European Commission.