President Iohannis: Budget deficit of 3.6pct, projection already starting to rebalance budget

A budget deficit of 3.6 percent represents a projection that is beginning to rebalance the budget, President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday in a press statement at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace. 

"If we do not want either to cut - or raise pensions -, if we want to have investments, if we want to do all the things proposed in the governing programme, it is clear that we need money. But, on the other hand, we need a tightening of spending so as to get closer to 3 percent. And this way, if this year closes with four something percent, next year it must close, clearly, well below 4 percent. And the projection of 3,6 percent is a projection that is already beginning to rebalance the budget, so that in the coming years we return - the sooner, the better - in a tier that is reasonable," the president said. 

He pleaded for a budget rebalancing, to be achieved "gradually and with great wisdom", adding that the Social Democratic governments "have pushed year by year a significantly higher expense" than could be borne by the revenues made. 

"It is clear that we are not only facing the situation of having a deficit for the current year well beyond the expected limit - and we are already in the range of over 4 percent - but these effects will also spread in the coming years. We must be very realistic. The discussion with this year's deficit is not over, because there are expenses to be made. I have said it, the Government has said it: we do not want to cut wages, we clearly do not want to cut pensions. Yes, we want to increase pensions. Or, for this we need money. And then we have a situation that we have called a budget rebalancing or a rebalancing of public finances, which must be carried out gradually and with great wisdom," said Iohannis. 

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Raluca Turcan said that the budget for 2020 was "wrapped up" and the Government is trying to maintain a deficit of 3.6 percent, and the "exact" procedure the Liberals will go for regarding the adoption of this bill is yet to be announced.