Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan stated on Tuesday, regarding the fact that President Nicusor Dan proposed increasing the retirement period for magistrates, that the head of state had a point of view, and in order to be put into practice, an amendment in Parliament was needed in this regard to the draft law on magistrates’ pensions.
„I believe that every person who holds a public office – minister, prime minister, party president, Mr. President of Romania – has points of view regarding one project or another. And he had a point of view. A point of view must be translated into practice in a way in which it can be translated. Think about the fact that we had a package that was given for consultation to the institutions that represent the judicial system in Romania, the Supreme Council of the Judiciary. If Parliament did not send us a proposal for modification on the amendments component, it means that you cannot modify a project since you promoted it and put it for consultation in a certain form, unless you receive amendments. And as has been seen, where amendments came from Parliament, some were accepted, some were rejected. On the magistrates component, we did not have such an amendment,” the PM specified, in a press conference at Victoria Palace, asked why he did not accept the president’s proposal.
Also, asked if he would resign if this project does not pass the Constitutional Court, the Prime Minister replied: „I explained last time that, when you have a very important project, which is a milestone for making other similar decisions, if it does not pass, it is difficult to assume that a government still has the legitimacy to come up with similar measures in other areas.”
On Sunday, President Nicusor Dan stated that he proposed that the transition period until the retirement age of magistrates reaches 65 should not be ten years, but 15.
„I requested 15 years instead of ten years (the transition period until the retirement age of magistrates reaches 65 – ed.), because, unlike many other categories that have a service pension, a special pension, magistrates in Romania have actually worked much longer than their counterparts in European countries. A Romanian aviator works as long as a Spanish aviator, a Romanian policeman works as long as a French policeman, a Romanian soldier works as long as a German soldier. Magistrates, and we had this exercise almost every day for a while, have worked in these years two to three times longer than their counterparts in European countries and then for a man who still has one year until retirement I think it is reasonable, given the complicated fiscal context in which we find ourselves, to ask him to work double. That is, he still has one year, let him do two. More „He has three years until retirement, to work six. Any longer seems excessive to me, because they have worked all this time,” the president explained.
AGERPRES
