Romanian Senate rejects simple motion against the finance minister

Senate rejected on Monday the simple motion filed by the opposition against Minister Eugen Teodorovici

Ştefan Stoica, 07.05.2019, 13:35

In Romania, simple motions have the only purpose of sparking debates on the activity of ministers and assessments of the sectors they are in charge of. Things were no different in the Senate, where a simple motion against Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici, filed by the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union, both in the opposition, was discussed. Liberal Senator Florin Citu tried to prove that Minister Teodorovici was incompetent. He supported his statement with messages received from citizens, a first in Romanian politics in terms of simple motion practice.

Florin Citu: “His presence at the helm of the Finance Ministry puts Romania at major economic risk and in an embarrassing position before our European and Euro-Atlantic partners. Eugen Teodorovici can no longer be minister of public finance and this idea is supported by politicians and regular citizens alike.

Minister Teodorovici and the leftist power in general are being criticised by the opposition for raising taxes in some economic sectors, in spite of promises to decrease them, for putting Romania on one of the first places in Europe in terms of inflation after having one of the lowest inflation rates before the leftist coalition came to power, for hiding the fact that Romania pays monthly interest rates that are higher than those of countries with smaller ratings, such as Greece.

Not least, the Liberal Senator Florin Citu accused the ruling coalition made up of the National Liberal Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats of deepening the budget deficit, unlike what responsible politicians should do in periods with economic growth, such as consolidating fiscal policy and reducing deficits, in keeping with the European fiscal treaty.

Minister Teodorovici dismissed the oppositions accusations and said this approach is demagogic.

Eugen Teodorovici: “The GDP has gone up since 2016, from 160 billion euros to an estimated 215 billion euros, which is an increase by more than 33% in only two years time. Given that the GDP is much higher than last year, its natural for the amount borrowed by the Romanian government from the foreign markets to be bigger as well. Also, the Finance Ministry presented publicly its financing strategy, at the start of each year, as it usually does.

Minister Eugen Teodorovici mentioned in his favor figures that prove the government invests more in healthcare and education, as promised, that they have raised pensions and have created more than 600,000 new jobs since January 1, 2017. Romania, Minister Teodorovici also said, had the most significant increase in labour productivity, 4 times the European average.

The governing coalition has defended its minister and has rejected the simple motion filed by the opposition against him.

(translated by: Elena Enache)