Romanian MP wants law forbidding parents to spend child allowance on alcohol, tobacco

The child allowance could be distributed as value vouchers, printed with safety elements that make it impossible to buy anything else but goods that children can use, according to a draft law proposed by Social Democracy Party (PSD) deputy Silviu Macovei. The project also established sanctions for parents who attempt to use the vouchers to buy other goods, such as alcoholic beverages, tobacco or coffee. The sanctions would also apply to retailers who accept to exchange the vouchers for such goods. “I will support this legislative initiative not to judge some Romanians who live off their children’s allowance and not to complicate a financial support system offered by the state, but because poverty and, maybe, ill will sometimes push some parents to use the money from their child allowance to finance their vices,” the deputy explained. In Romania, the children and young aged up to 18 years old, and in some cases even older, receive a monthly allowance offered as a protection measure by the state. All children up to 18 years of age and the young older than 18 who are enrolled in school can benefit from the allowance. In the case of the young who repeat a school year the allowance is no longer granted, except in cases when they had to repeat the school year for medical reasons. The child allowance stands at RON 200 (EUR 43) for children up to 2 years old, at RON 84 (EUR 18) for children aged between 2 and 18 and for high school students older than 18, and at RON 200 for the children and the young with disabilities aged between 3 and 18. Romania, last in the EU for child and family allowances Romanian President signs law capping child raising allowance at EUR 1,800 editor@romania-insider.com