Prime Minister Ludovic Orban appears before Parliament

prime minister ludovic orban appears before parliament The Romanian Government is preparing an investment-based economic recovery plan

The Liberal Government in Bucharest is preparing an economic recovery plan after the coronavirus pandemic, Liberal Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said in Parliament, where he was invited to present the measures taken so far by his team. The Prime Minister stated that, in the first quarter of 2020, Romania reported the biggest economic growth at EU level. Ludovic Orban:



"Most Romanian companies and most fields of activity remained operational, and the figures speak for themselves. Our data shows that in the first quarter Romania had the biggest economic growth. Data for the second quarter will reveal that, compared to other countries, Romania's economy fares far better than many are willing to admit".



Prime Minister Orban added that restrictions in the economic field were taken to lower the threat to people's lives and well-being, saying that no construction site was closed down. Evidence of that can be found in the structure of economic growth for public investments. As regards the hospitality industry, which has been under tremendous pressure during this crisis, Ludovic Orban said the Government supports the restart of activity by taking active measures, when the epidemiological context will allow it. The opposition in Parliament disagrees, claiming the Government's economic policies have made it impossible for thousands of companies to pay their bank installments, many of them now on the verge of bankruptcy. The opposition says the Government's support programme addressing SMEs has turned out to be inefficient. ProRomania leader Victor Ponta believes the Orban Cabinet in fact has no solutions to the present crisis:



"Today Romania's Parliament must make up for the Government's lack of action and measures. We are talking about the economy, the true crisis Romania is already facing and which it will most likely continue to face, once the health crisis has passed. Allow me to ask you - will you resign willingly or must Parliament remove you from office again?"



In turn, Social-Democrat interim leader Marcel Ciolacu has called for concrete actions, the lack of which might trigger a new vote of no-confidence:



"You've inherited a functional economy, with a 4% growth, which you've now lowered to 2%. Over 70% of Romanians have money in their bank accounts to last them a month. Today, you should have resigned, but you lack the dignity to do it, for all the damage you've done to this country".



Other parliamentary groups have asked for concrete measures to overcome the economic crisis, calling on the Government to show responsibility and engage in a constructive dialogue with its political partners.

(Translated by V. Palcu)



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Publicat: 2020-05-19 13:30:00
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