New Romanian labor minister assures pensions will rise by 40% next September

Romania’s new labor minister Violeta Alexandru stated on Wednesday, November 20, that the pensions will increase by 40% in September 2020, as provided by new Pension Law, local Adevarul reported.

Asked how the new Pension Law can be enforced “as it is” since the European Union called on Romania to reduce budgetary expenses, the labor minister simply repeated that “the pensions will increase by 40% starting September, as provided by law."

She also said that "the budget for next year will have a certain structure, and we will inform the European Commission [about it]."

However, Alexandru also stated that the public pension house has carried no impact study for the 40% hike scenario, implying that the commitment expressed is rather political in its nature. Notably, finance minister Florin Citu has avoided as well commenting on the budget adjustment for this year and budget planning for next year, deferring such topics for after the second round of the presidential elections.

“The new Pension Law represents a significant risk to the public deficit in 2020 and in the years to come, […] between 2019-2021,” the European Commission showed in the report containing the findings of the mission carried out in Romania by September 25, 2019.

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