The government will adopt the public administration reform

Before adopting the state budget for 2026, the government in Bucharest will take responsibility for the administrative reform

Daniela Budu, 13.01.2026, 13:50

The first discussions between Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and the five deputy prime ministers on the state budget, the government’s priority at the beginning of the year, took place in Bucharest on Monday. The draft, which will be adopted next month by the Executive, must take into account a deficit of 6.4% and include the 195 projects in the NRRP, which are important for the development of the economy and national infrastructure, according to Ilie Bolojan. Administrative reform is a necessity, the prime minister believes, specifying that this project must be adopted before the state budget. According to him, if spending or staff are not reduced, the money will go into the black hole of inefficient administrations, instead of being directed towards the investments that local communities so badly need.

Administrative reform is also necessary at the central administration level, says the prime minister, and, in this regard, each minister will conduct their own analysis of spending and staff reductions. Therefore, the Bucharest Executive must adopt the reform of local and central administration in order to establish the exact financial allocations to ministries and administrative-territorial units, which has been postponed for months due to disagreements within the governing coalition, as well as the reform of state-owned companies. Here, the government must decide which of the more than 1,500 companies will be dissolved, merged, or restructured.

On television, Defence Minister Radu Miruţă announced that it had been decided that next week’s government meeting would adopt the reform of local and central public administration, a reform for which Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan will take responsibility before Parliament in an extraordinary session. Once the reform has been adopted by the government, which, according to the minister, will mean a 10% reduction in spending, the Ministry of Finance will publish the budget limits that each ministry must adhere to.

Radu Miruţă also stated that by next week a bill will be drafted to increase the retirement age in law enforcement and defence structures, where salaries and the number of employees cannot be reduced, given the context of the war in neighbouring Ukraine. All these issues will be analysed on Monday at the governing coalition meeting. Regarding education, the minister specified that the 10% reduction also includes the one made last year, and regarding health, the government said that this reduction should be made by changing the categories in which hospitals are classified.

Another legislative project left over from last year, alongside public administration reform, is the law changing the retirement system for magistrates, which the prime minister says complies with constitutional provisions. After several postponements, a decision from the Constitutional Court on this issue is expected this week. (MI)