Romania’s Parliament, in a plenary sitting on Thursday, gave the vote of confidence to the Cabinet proposed by PM-designate Nicolae Ciuca.
There were 318 votes in favour and 126 against.
A minimum number of 234 votes in favour were needed for the proposed government to be invested by Parliament.
The voting was secret, with balls.
Parliament’s decision on granting the vote of confidence will be forwarded as soon as possible to the head of state, to proceed to the government appointment.
The Prime Minister, the ministers and the other members of the government are going to be individually sworn-in before President Klaus Iohannis.
Ciuca: Gov’t I propose will guarantee the stability and development of Romania
Prime Minister-designate Nicolae Ciuca said his Government will provide predictability and guarantee Romania’s stability and development through all measures it will take.
“Today we are in a moment long awaited by all Romanians, one in which we can finally offer predictability and guarantee Romania’s stability and development through all the measures we will take for the good of the citizens. I want it to be the first day of an approach to governing the country. Together with all the ministers in this government, I pledge to do everything in our power to improve Romania’s economic, social and health situation,” Nicolae Ciuca said Thursday in Parliament’s sitting for the investiture of the Government proposed by him.
The prime minister-designate added that through the proposed government program, the interests of the Romanians and the guarantee of success in several directions of action are on the first place.
“The first refers to investments, those without which Romania cannot recover and cannot achieve the objectives we all want. Our common goal is to modernize Romania and that is why we will allocate 7% of GDP to investment, money which will go mainly to infrastructure projects, but also to the administrative units (…)”, said Ciuca.
The prime minister-designate specified that the second direction of action of the Government is related to the connection through infrastructure of the historical regions, by continuing the investments in the construction of highways, railways and means of intermodal transport until 2024, as well as geographical balance, infrastructure, strengthening the economic and strategic position of the Constanta Port.
Ciuca added that the third direction refers to “the balanced and cohesive development of Romania”.
“No region should be left behind in terms of transport infrastructure development. This is a commitment we make,” Ciuca said.
Government will have as strategic objective Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area and consolidation the regional security pillar profile in NATO and in the EU
Prime Minister-designate Nicolae Ciuca told Parliament’s sitting on Thursday that the Government will ensure observance of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, and, externally, will have as strategic objective Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area and consolidation the regional security pillar profile in NATO and the role in the EU.
“We aim for Romania’s foreign policy to be coherent, predictable and based on three fundamental pillars: strengthening Romania’s role in the European Union, strengthening its NATO profile and strengthening its strategic partnership with the United States. (…) Internationally, Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area is a strategic objective with strong implications for the entire security architecture of the EU,” Ciuca told Parliament’s sitting for the Government investiture.
He added that within NATO “the aim will be to strengthen the profile of the regional security pillar”.
“At the same time, externally, our country will continue to actively support the integration efforts in the European Union of the Republic of Moldova and the pro-democratic reform program, based on the Strategic Partnership for European Integration of the Republic of Moldova. Our support is based on the community of language, history and culture, as well as the vision of the common space from the perspective of European integration,” the prime minister-designate mentioned.
In regards to justice, Ciuca mentioned that it is necessary to ensure observance of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, “especially considering the priorities arising from Romania’s obligations as a member state of the European Union”.
“Justice is the power of the state called to achieve an efficient, accessible, impartial and independent public service. A modern, efficient, accessible and quality justice system, adapted to the needs of citizens and the private environment is an important premise for economic development and stability, social development of the country,” Ciuca added.
We will keep flat tax, we will encourage local capital
Prime Minister-designate Nicolae Ciuca said on Thursday that his flat tax rate would be maintained in his government, that local capital would be encouraged through concrete measures and that work would also be done to create a brand identity for Romania.
“A strong state is a state that supports the business environment and it is his fair, predictable and friendly partner. We will keep the flat tax rate and we are against raising taxes and duties. Our role is to encourage the development of entrepreneurship, and this cannot be achieved by increasing the pressure on economic operators, who are already severely affected by the negative impact of the pandemic on their businesses. A prosperous business environment is one that provides jobs.We will encourage, through concrete measures, domestic capital and we will work for the creation of a brand identity for Romania, which will contribute to the creation of a positive image of our country in relation to the potential partners,” Nicolae Ciuca told Parliament’s sitting for the investiture vote on the government proposed by him.
He also referred to the active role that tourism must play in creating Romania’s image.
“Tourism must play an active role in creating Romania’s image, as an integral part of the process of increasing the attractiveness of our country, by more efficiently highlighting the natural, cultural and human heritage, by emphasizing Romanian values, talents, traditions and customs. We will implement a functional partnership, which will contribute to ensuring the good collaboration between the private and the public environment,” Ciuca added.
PNRR is the main axis in achieving our objectives
Prime Minister-designate Nicolae Ciuca said on Thursday that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) is the “main focus” in achieving the objectives of the government he will lead.
“The next direction focuses on the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. PNRR is the main axis in achieving our objectives. The use of this European money is closely linked to the observance of a well-established schedule and the implementation of reforms to improve institutional capacity, corporate governance, digital transformation of transportation and increased safety in the area, as well as to meet the European goals for the decarbonisation of transport, and environmental protection, with increased attention to climate change,” Ciuca told a plenary sitting of Parliament on Thursday in seeking a vote o confidence on his Cabinet.
He added that the process of modernising Romania also requires concrete and urgent measures for the digital transformation of public services in an attempt to bring them closer to the citizens.
With regard to healthcare, he said the government would develop a fair program for unrestricted and uninterrupted access to healthcare services.
The citizen is and will be front and centre in the governing act as its beneficiary, said the prime minister-designate.
He added that more attention needs to be paid to families and support for them.
Ciuca, after the investiture vote: We are Romania’s Government, we’ll make all efforts to overcome problems
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said that the government he leads will do everything possible for Romania to overcome the problems caused by the COVID pandemic and determine the “lines of effort for what it means the development” of the country.
“Thanking all those who gave us the vote of confidence, I also want to thank those who did not give it to us. I believe that it is very important, both for us, the members of the Government, and for you, all the members of Parliament. I did understand, you know, from everything that was said here, that we have taken a very great responsibility upon us. I also understood the recommendations made by those who took the floor from the opposition. We are Romania’s government, as we pledged to maintain the Romanian citizen at the centre of our attention and to do everything possible to overcome all these problems that we have been facing because of the COVID crisis, and to determine the lines of effort needed for Romania’s development,” Nicolae Ciuca stated on Thursday, after the investiture of the new Government proposed by him, in the joint plenary sitting of Parliament.
Barna: Romanian President, the godfather of the collaboration that starts today
USR (Save Romania Union) Deputy Dan Barna told the joint sitting of Parliament that President Klaus Iohannis is the “godfather of the collaboration” between PSD (Social Democratic Party) and PNL (National Liberal Party).
During the meeting for the inauguration of the Government, the USR vice-chair congratulated the PSD leader, Marcel Ciolacu, “for the acquisition.” He also said that this is the first time that the PNL “willingly and unforced by anyone” is handing over the government.
“It’s not a small thing to take the PNL out of government from the position of first violin and put it back as an annex of PSD. And it is not a small thing to convince the winning team to snatch the defeat from the clutches of victory. Because this is what the colleagues from the winning team have done these days. They threw the result of last year’s elections on the window and lined up nicely behind your party. You’ve succeeded, Mr Ciolacu, in something that Ion Iliescu himself was not able to do, you pushed PNL out of history and you have it now in PSD’s chest pocket,” said Barna.
Tarziu: Political army behind General Nicolae Ciuca is compromised
Senator Claudiu Tarziu, co-chair of Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) said on Thursday in Parliament that the “political army” behind General Nicolae Ciuca is a “compromised” one, and Social Democratic Party (PSD) and National Liberal Party (PNL) are responsible for the ”dramatic situation” of today’s Romania, as well as the ”multiple crises” that the country is going through, as the two parties have led Romania in the last three decades” by rotation and sometimes in alliance”.
He added that the “godfather” of this alliance is President Klaus Iohannis, whom he considers “the main culprit for the disaster of recent years.”
In the opinion of Claudiu Tarziu, “considering the governmental abuses with legal appearance so far, as well as the intention to force the en-masse vaccination of Romanians, a general at the head of the Government is likely to increase our fear”.
“It is a very serious alarm signal, which you give to Romanians today, if you vote this Cabinet. Romanians will wonder if democracy is done with,” he added.
USR’s Dragu calls incoming Gov’t agenda weak, incoherent, containing existing measures, inaccuracies
Save Romania Union (USR) Senator Anca Dragu told a joint sitting of Parliament on Thursday that the governing agenda put forth by the coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the National Liberal Party (PNL), and the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) would be “weak and incoherent,” containing “existing legislative measures, inconsistencies and inaccuracies.”
“I must confess that in the more than 20 years of my activity as an economist I have gone through dozens of government agendas in Romania as well as in other European countries. I don’t remember seeing such a weak and incoherent agenda. But, I have found measures already existing in the legislation, inconsistencies and inaccuracies,” she said.
During the sitting where Parliament was asked for a vote of confidence in the government-to-be, Dragu drew attention to the fact that in the agenda of the future Cabinet the minimum wage is slated to increase from January 1, but “the increase is already in the legislation.” She added that the same agenda aims to increase contributions to Pillar II pensions to 4.75%, after PSD previously reduced them from 6%.
“It is expected to reduce the size of contributions to the healthcare system despite an ongoing pandemic and an already underfunded system. It is expected to maximise economic returns in state-owned companies, but in reality, the media have reported how all state-owned companies were shared up politically, dedicated to party cronies,” she said.
Dragu said the increase in state pensions “imitated the Black Friday model”, going from a 40% increase promised by PSD to “a miserly 10%,” which will be further eroded by inflation.
“I was expecting a list of ministers and a government agenda to be put to a vote in Parliament today that would include firm measures to strengthen the rule of law, the fight against corruption and ensure an independent judiciary, and also for Romania’s sustainable development. We are dealing, in reality, with the work staged by two parties with the same outdated and retrograde mentalities that promote the model of the captive state, opportunely united to get their hands on the thickest chunks of the pie and greedily divides the money under PNDL 3 [National Local Development Plan] and PNRR [National Recovery and Resilience Plan],” she said.
Compiled from Agerpres
Photo: www.gov.ro
