Social Democratic Party (PSD) Chairman Sorin Grindeanu said on Monday evening that next week the Minister of Finance will have to come to the coalition and explain how the year closed from the perspective of the 2025 state budget and what the main coordinates are for 2026, with one of the Social Democrats’ proposals being to take action in the pensions area.
‘Next week, the Minister of Finance will have to come to the coalition and explain, on the one hand, how the year closed and what the closing looks like for 2025 and what the main budgetary coordinates for 2026 are. PSD’s proposals will come together with these macroeconomic indicators presented by the Minister of Finance. I will give you an example: it is not possible that in 2026 we take no action at all in the pension area. This issue will not remain as it is, whether we do a one-off measure or enter discussions related to pension increases, these things must exist in 2026. In other words, these are things we want to have included in the budget,’ Sorin Grindeanu told on Romania TV private television broadcaster.
He added that at present PSD is in a period of internal evaluation regarding continued participation in the current governing coalition.
‘I have not drawn red lines, I do not want to say that if something does not happen, as was the case for example with the discussion about Minister Buzoianu at the Environment, that if Buzoianu is not replaced PSD leaves the government. But all these things related to the budget, to certain decisions the Government does or does not make, to Mercosur, will weigh when we decide whether we stay or not in this coalition. Without us there cannot be a pro-European majority in the Romanian Parliament. (…) I announced this many months ago, that it is mandatory that together with the next assumption of responsibility, namely the one related to local and central administrations, there must be a package for economic relaunch. You cannot come only with cuts, layoffs and things that relate to the negative side, if I may call it that, without trying to add through economic measures,’ the Social Democrat leader underlined.
Grindeanu said that at the moment ‘the coalition is creaking,’ but not because of the prime minister, rather because of certain parties.
‘There were also the discussions about the Mercosur Agreement. This is the issue I put on the coalition agenda today. You cannot make decisions on Romania’s behalf for decades from now without explaining to Romanians what you are committing this country to. This decision was made on an individual basis, by individuals, and it was signed without taking into account the proposals that came from the Minister of Agriculture. You cannot work in a coalition of four parties without informing, without deciding within this coalition, on matters that are extremely important. (…) Today I had discussions with senior officials from both the European Council and the European Parliament, they called me after hearing our point of view, namely that we do not support this agreement, trying to explain to me the benefits of this agreement. I informed them that PSD maintains its position, namely that it does not support it,’ Sorin Grindeanu concluded. AGERPRES
