PM Bolojan on presidential talks: Relations among parties must be based on respect

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said that during Tuesday's meeting at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace the leaders of the ruling coalition agreed that the relations among the parties must be based on respect, that there should be a certain solidarity, and that attacks should be limited.

"We all agreed that, if we want this coalition to work, the relations among the parties must be based on respect, there must be a certain solidarity and the attacks must be limited, because otherwise trust among the partners decreases and none gains anything," the prime minister told Europa FM private broadcaster.

Bolojan denied the information according to which President Nicusor Dan would have asked him to be more flexible.

As for the information according to which the president would have calculated the budgetary impact of the reduction of positions in the local administration, Bolojan replied that it would be a "pseudo-news, based on sources." That information "has no consistency and is not real," the prime minister said.

"There was discussion about the number of positions that are being reduced, about the financial effects, but what appeared has nothing to do with reality. Here, every day you are faced with news from sources, with all kinds of fakes, with things that must be constantly explained," he said.

During the discussions, President Dan was interested in the effects of the proposed package for the reform of local public administration and the existing problems in the field, Bolojan said.

"There was a discussion about how this staff cuts in the administration would be made, so that it would have a real effect. It was agreed that by the middle of the month a formula will be found whereby - if we have a commitment in the coalition to balancing the budgets also by reducing staff, and by all the related reforms that fall within this management package - it will indeed be done, including with a 10% cut in the effective staff. That was the substantive discussion. (...) That was the conclusion of this discussion," he said.

Bolojan added that, as prime minister, he will always support a good collaboration with the President of Romania and the coalition parties.

He said that the Value Added Tax (VAT) increase was an exceptional measure, adopted in an exceptional situation, which is part of an economic reality.

"As for the components related to the economy, that is the responsibility of the government. And based on negotiations with the European Commission, with our partners, based on discussions that were with the rating agencies, it is true that Mr. President asked us to manage this deficit without increasing VAT, if possible, but a week, two, three, after we took over the government I found that there are not many alternatives to generate immediate income, so that we pass beyond the our assessment of July," he said.