Traian Basescu: We risk becoming a country of social assisted

Half or Romania’s population requested social assistance, incumbent president Traian Basescu declared on Wednesday. The President appreciated that this was a waste caused by „populist” behaviour.

The statements were made during the „The Future of Social Change: 1989-2009: Visions and Perspectives after 20 Years of Transition” conference on Wednesday.

„There is a lack of coherence and responsibility in allocating public resources reserved for social policies. We risk becoming a nation of social assisted”, Basescu said. He noted that there were 11 million Romanians receiving national assistance in 2008, which is half of Romania’s 22 million people.

„It doesn’t mean we don’t make a priority out of allocating public money. The source of the waste rests in a populist political behaviour and in lacking transparency in setting budget priorities”, Basescu said, quoted by Romanian news agency Mediafax. He also said that it wasn’t possible for half of the population to be assisted by the state.

Traian Basescu did not fail to mention that Romania’s got a big issue when it comes to administrative capacity. He declared that there was the risk Romania could not absorb the 32 billion euros received from the EU.