Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Monday stated that spending on goods and services has been reduced by 10%, although there is an „artificial increase” recorded in this chapter because of the spending on endowment of the Romanian Army and healthcare.

Marcel Ciolacu was asked how he commented on the statements made by Liberal politicians, who said that public spending should be reduced.

„We already cut down spending by 10%. So my question would be why they didn’t slash those expenses last year or two years ago or three years ago when they were at rule? Or 4 years ago? Four years ago they increased the deficit up to 9.2. At this point we have the month of May closed and let’s see if we have a surplus, because we had talked with the Minister of Finance, and we have already taken the 10% cut measure,” Ciolacu said at PSD (Social Democratic Party) headquarters.

He mentioned that spending on goods and services did not increase by 27%.

„For goods and services, for example, we should consider the fact that the expenses for endowment of the Romanian Army are included here. Those were made in the first months of the year, in the amount of 7 billion. And we are also talking about the spending on healthcare, respectively 500 million per month. Those expenses have increased, so it is somehow an artificial increase, which is why we shouldn’t actually talk about an increase, because we already have ordinance 296, it seems to me, which says that it is forbidden to buy cars, office equipment, furniture, it is illegal,” said Ciolacu.

AGERPRES