There is an urgent need for a fully legitimate government, with ministers in office based on a mandate given by Parliament, clearly, with a governing programme, with a proper list of measures, which will impose its administrative will down to the smallest corners of the Romanian administration, acting PM Catalin Predoiu stated on Thursday.

He emphasised that the interim government he leads has limited capacities from a constitutional point of view and a government with full powers is needed.

On the issue of reducing the budget deficit, he specified that, from his point of view, it is unacceptable to continue having state-owned companies with losses.

„In my opinion, it is unacceptable to have state-owned companies with losses, which continue to allocate, including through previously adopted budgets or through salary policies decided at the company level, at the level of general shareholders’ meetings, bonuses for the boards of directors. It is exaggerated. Or companies that have losses, and they nevertheless allocate funds for fanciful investments or that are not up to date. In practice, they are independent of the Government, but still the government there has members in the general shareholders’ meetings and thus controls the boards of directors. That is why I have given a precise task to each minister to give precise instructions to the ministerial representatives in the general shareholders’ meetings of state-owned companies and to the members of the boards of directors to stop these expenses, to stop increasing compensation, to stop wasting public money,” Predoiu stated.

He added that beyond the situations in these state-owned companies, the biggest source of budgetary consolidation could come from recovering VAT, collecting arrears and eradicating tax evasion.

Asked why these things are not happening and why ANAF (National Agency for Fiscal Administration) is failing to recover these amounts, Predoiu said that the legislation exists, there is a ministerial desire to perform, but there is „a problem with the way the administration at the lower levels approaches its responsibilities.”

Regarding the option of Ilie Bolojan being designated as prime minister, Predoiu said that he considers him the most suitable, at this moment, to lead the future government.

AGERPRES