Romanian PM hints not much change on controversial ordinance

Romania’s prime minister Viorica Dancila defended each provision of the emergency ordinance 114her cabinet adopted in December 2018 as she addressed the Parliament on Monday, March 4.

Speaking of the most controversial provision, the “greed tax” on banks' assets, Dancila argued that Romanians pay loan interest rates twice as high as others in Europe, implying that the tax on financial assets would result in better borrowing terms for local debtors, local Mediafax reported.

However, when it came to concrete details, Dancila hinted that talks are held with stakeholders about the major provisions of the ordinance while stressing that no amendment is needed. Such provisions, like capping the energy prices, are in force in many European countries, the managers of private pension funds are not willing to leave the market, and the Government is close to finding a formula to amend the “greed tax” levied to banks such a way that everybody accepts it.

“Is there any problem with us thinking about Romanians?”, Dancila started her speech on a populist note.

"With OUG 114/2018, we aimed to bring “those billions of euros” to the state budget for the construction of hospitals, motorways," she said.

"The most important section of the OUG concerns the setting up of measures for [promoting] public investment. The OUG provides opportunities as well. By the OUG, we will set up the Development and Investment Fund (FSID), which is the first mechanism of this kind created in Romania after the Revolution [in 1989]. The FSID aims to finance projects in areas such as sanitation, education, health, sports, culture, housing, but also to finance universities. In the following days, the methodological norms for applying and for disbursing financing by the Fund will be passed, so that the educational units can already submit projects," the PM explained.

(Photo source: Gov.ro)