Radio România Internațional

Tag: restructuring

  • Restructuring in state institutions

    Restructuring in state institutions

    The biggest cut in operating expenses in the history of the Government is starting, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced in Bucharest. In the government meeting he showed that several public institutions will be merged or abolished, with the personnel scheme being reduced, including the posts of state secretaries. Approximately 1,800 positions of civil servants and contractual employees from 32 institutions under the subordination and coordination of the Executive will be abolished, stated Prime Minister Ciolacu, explaining that this signal had been expected both by the public opinion and especially by the business environment.

     

    Marcel Ciolacu: “We are abolishing and merging authorities and institutions. We are reducing the number of employees and cutting official positions. In total, we are talking about a massive cut in posts of 13.5%.”

     

    Regarding those institutions that have an organizational chart approved by the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT), the head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, Radu Oprea, explained that government decisions will follow for the approval of the organizational charts, for their organization and functioning. Regarding the vacant positions, he added, they intend to release those who are subject to the decision of the High Court of Cassation and Justice by which the cumulation of the pension with the salary is prohibited. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu’s announcement to reduce the number of posts in government institutions comes after he asked the ministers, in the January 10 government meeting, to come up with proposals to restructure positions in the administration and in the state companies. The staff reduction proposals, which Prime Minister Ciolacu declared to be a priority, are part of the 2025 budget calculations.

     

    Similar measures were taken by Parliament. The Chamber of Deputies voted, at the beginning of February, to reduce the number of posts by 240, and the Senate decided to abolish 178. According to experts, however, it is not clear what the impact of the restructuring will be on public spending. The number of positions occupied in public institutions and authorities in Romania was, in January, 1.3 million. In 2020, 1.25 million people were employed by the State, in 2021 – 1.26 million, in 2022 – 1.28 million, and in 2023 – 1.29 million. For a good part of these years, employment in the state institutions was blocked, employment being made only through derogations issued by the ministers and the prime minister. Let’s also remember that, at the end of last year, the Government headed by Marcel Ciolacu adopted an ordinance by which the salaries of state employees and public pensions were frozen. Also, with a view to making budget savings, the tax facilities in the IT, construction and agriculture fields were also eliminated, the taxation ceiling for micro-enterprises was reduced by half and the tax on dividends was increased to 10%. (LS)

  • February 6, 2025

    February 6, 2025

     

    BUDGET Parliament endorsed on Wednesday evening the draft laws on the state budget and the social security budget for 2025. The budget is based on a 2.5% economic growth forecast and a budget deficit of 7% of GDP. According to the finance minister Tánczos Barna, the conditions are thus met to support development through record-large investment, to ensure the payment of salaries and pensions, to protect vulnerable citizens, and to restore balance in the country’s finances.

     

    GOVERNMENT The coalition government in Bucharest convenes today for the first time after this year’s state budget law has been endorsed. The Cabinet’s agenda includes several investment projects concerning the green transition, worth approx. EUR 18 mln. This year’s priorities under the “Anghel Saligny” Local Development Programme are also being discussed, and a formula for calculating national minimum gross wages based on inflation and labor productivity is to be approved, in line with the relevant European Directive. Since the beginning of the year, minimum gross wages in Romania have stood at approx. EUR 810, and the new formula should ensure predictability in employees’ incomes.

     

    RESTRUCTURING Over 400 administrative posts in Parliament are to be scrapped, after Romania’s Chamber of Deputies approved the reorganisation of its staff on Wednesday. Personnel cuts will be made from the Chamber Speaker’s office and the Permanent Bureau members’ offices, and from various departments and directorates in the institution. According to the Chamber leaders, 240 fewer posts will result in annual savings of about EUR 7 mln. Recently, the Senate also decided to cut almost 200 positions, despite employee protests. The government speaks about the need to lower spending in order to contain the budget deficit, while the opposition complains about a lack of transparency and violation of legal provisions.

     

    PRESIDENT The Young People’s Party (POT), a new entry in the Romanian Parliament, Wednesday evening filed a third request to remove the country’s acting president, Klaus Iohannis, from office. The move comes after the opposition failed to get the previous requests on Parliament’s agenda due to procedural flaws. If all legal procedures are met this time, Parliament will convene for a vote in a joint plenary meeting of the two Chambers. On December 21 last year, president Klaus Iohannis’ second and last five-year presidential term under the Constitution was due to come to an end, but after the presidential elections were cancelled his term was extended until a new head of state is elected.

     

    ELECTIONS The Minister Delegate in charge of European Affairs Benjamin Haddad is on a two-day visit to Bucharest, to express his country’s solidarity with Romania, which is subject to foreign interference, reads a news release issued by the French foreign ministry. The French governmental agency in charge of protection against foreign digital interference, VIGINUM, said in a report quoted by the Radio Romania correspondent in Paris that such moves disrupted the smooth conduct of the presidential elections in Romania at the end of last year. We have more after the news.

     

    The Romanian Government Scholarships Program is now open for applications. Each year, the Romanian Government, through the Ministerul Afacerilor Externe/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Romania, provides a number of scholarships to citizens from non-EU countries, with good results in education. Applicants can choose from any of the following three study cycles in accredited higher education institutions in Romania: Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or PhD. Scholarships are NOT awarded in the fields of medicine, dental medicine and pharmacy. The eligibility criteria, documents and detailed information can be found on the Study in Romania platform, using the Apply for MFA Scholarships button https://studyinromania.gov.ro/

    Applications are to be submitted ONLY through the Study in Romania platform at https://scholarships.studyinromania.gov.ro/

    Applications are accepted between 29 January and 12 March, 2025, with the selection results announced around 30 June 2025.

  • Plans for a government restructuring

    Plans for a government restructuring

    The idea of a government restructuring has been circulating for a few days in Romania. However, the Social Democrats, the senior partners in the ruling coalition, are split over the timeliness of this move: while some support the idea of a cabinet with fewer ministries, others are categorically opposed to it. One side says the government must be streamlined and rendered more efficient to allow the Social Democratic Party to carry through its governing platform, while the other believes the government needs continuity, without conflicts and rivalries.



    The Prime Minister Mihai Tudose is in favour of restructuring, saying 28 ministries is too much. Asked by journalists about his opinion, the Social Democratic leader Liviu Dragnea gave an ambiguous answer, which reflects the conflicting views within his party. He also pointed out that a final decision cannot be taken without consulting with their coalition partners, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats.



    Liviu Dragnea: “One possibility is to restructure the cabinet, another to reshuffle it. Its also possible that none of these happen and instead we rethink the administrative decision-making process within ministries. In fact, we will have a comprehensive discussion about this at our next Executive Committee meeting. We also have to discuss this subject with our partners, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, because the restructuring of the government needs to be approved by Parliament.



    The defence minister Mihai Fifor more or less shares this view:



    Mihai Fifor: “Its prime minister Mihai Tudoses right to propose a different structure for his cabinet if he feels its necessary, but these are matters that have to be discussed and decided within the coalition, for we are not governing on our own but together with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, and also by the Social Democratic Partys Executive Committee, namely the partys decision-making body.



    The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats says it heard nothing from the prime minister about the plans to restructure the cabinet and calls on him to focus on the countrys prosperity, so that Romanians may feel the benefits of the economic growth. The leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Calin Popescu Tariceanu:



    Calin Popescu Tariceanu: “People are not very interested in how many times we meet every week, how many meetings the government holds and how many ministers it has. They are, however, interested in the quality of the political decisions made in Parliament and the quality of government. These are the things we should focus on, and not on disputes I sometimes view as sterile, useless, and, whats worse, damaging. I have no direct information from the prime minister about plans to restructure the cabinet. The make-up of this government is the result of the coalition between the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and of a protocol agreed on and approved by the two parties in December 2016, after the elections.



    The Social Democratic Party will discuss a possible government restructuring at a meeting of its Executive Committee scheduled to take place in Iasi, in the north-east, between the 29th and the 31st of January.


    (translated by: Cristina Mateescu)