President Nicușor Dan intervenes in the salary law scandal and says that all four parties that participated in the negotiations are responsible for missing the milestone in the PNRR. After months of discussions, PSD, PNL, USR, and UDMR failed to reach an agreement.
The head of state specifies that the parties have collectively accepted the loss of 770 million euros related to this reform. The statement comes as PSD and PNL blame each other for the failure of the negotiations.
"Starting in May, the Presidential Administration mediated a discussion between PSD, PNL, USR, and UDMR on the salary law. Unfortunately, despite intense negotiations in recent months, the four parties did not reach a political and social consensus on the law," Nicușor Dan transmitted on Wednesday in a statement published on the Presidential Administration's website.
A Reform Postponed Since 2022
The President believes that the reform, essential for the entire budgetary system, should not have been postponed for years, starting from 2022.
As a result, one of the most complex reforms undertaken through the PNRR, with direct effects on the incomes of state employees, has come to be discussed under enormous time pressure.
Nicușor Dan noted, however, the willingness of the parties and ministerial teams to participate in negotiations, as well as the work done in recent months.
"It should also be noted that the parties have respected their commitment not to separately submit a draft of the law to Parliament, jointly assuming, according to the political agreement, the loss of the 770 million euros related to this PNRR milestone," stated the head of state.
The statement contradicts the attempts of PSD and PNL to attribute responsibility for the deadlock to the other side. The Liberals accused PSD of hindering the adoption of the reform and jeopardizing European funds. The Social Democrats responded that Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, Minister of Investments and European Projects Dragoș Pîslaru, and PNL must politically account for the failure.
The Law Should Be Adopted by the End of the Year
Despite missing the milestone in the PNRR, the four parties have committed to adopting the new salary law by the end of this year. The legislative act will have to comply with the total salary expenditure limit agreed with the European Commission.
However, this limit will not allow for the satisfaction of all demands from the unions, the President warns.
From a technical point of view, the law is almost finalized, and negotiations with the unions have clarified numerous aspects. The deadlock is now a political one: the parties must decide how the available funds will be distributed among the various categories of public sector employees.
"The political decision of the parties will determine how the salary envelope will be distributed among the different professional categories and, implicitly, the income level for each professional category in the budgetary system," Nicușor Dan further conveyed.