Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos in an exclusive interview on Radio Romania

In an interview on Radio Romania, Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos focused on the situation of Romanians in Great Britain in the wake of Brexit, the absorption of European funds, the local officials pensions and the curtailing of bureaucracy.

Valentin Țigău, 28.06.2016, 13:57

The exclusive interview which technocrat Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos gave on Radio Romania focused on a number of topical issues in Romanian society. He made it a point to dissipate the fears of Romanians residing in Great Britain about losing certain rights, especially the right to work, after the referendum in the wake of which the UK will have to leave the European Union. Dacian Ciolos:

At present and in the coming period, until the negotiation process has been completed, which we estimate to last at least two years, Romanian nationals, just like any other European citizens can keep all the rights and obligations they have as European citizens in Great Britain.

Dacian Ciolos underscored that in the coming period, Romania would negotiate at EU level with Great Britain the further protection and backing of the Romanian nationals rights. In terms of domestic policy, the Prime Minister answered questions pertaining to the economy and investments. He said that there had been delays in the preparation for the budget execution during the 2014-2020 period and in the absorption of European funds over 2007-2013; he said that after the technocrat government had taken office, the absorption rate had reached over 70-75%. Dacian Ciolos:

“For me it is important now that we prepare for the 2014-2020 period as best as we can and in the most transparent possible way, that we do away with all sources of corruption or bureaucracy or sources blocking the implementation of those projects because not only the absorption capacity, but also the absorption quality will depend on that.

Along the line of fostering rational social spending from the state budget, there is also the initiative announced by the Prime Minister on Radio Romania of challenging at the Constitutional Court the law granting special pensions to local officials. That law has turned out to be not only as unpopular as the law granting additional incomes to the MPs, but also inequitable. Dacian Ciolos:

“Special pensions mean higher pensions than the respective category contributed to the pension budget, so somebody has to provide that surplus.

Finally, in the exclusive interview he gave on Radio Romania, Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos referred to the measures taken by the government to curtail bureaucracy. He said that essential measures would be applied to simplify certain bureaucratic procedures deemed by Romanians as non-performing. Dacian Ciolos:

“Five months ago, we launched a project that has been very effective from the very beginning, in that weve received a lot of ideas and proposals. We synthesized those ideas and proposals and in the last few months, weve been identifying legislative and legal ways of putting these ideas into practice.

The project refers to the simplification of procedures related to the criminal record, ID copies, certified copies, certain forms of the Fiscal Administration and the payment of various taxes and dues by card.

(Translated by AM Palcu)