Theodor Stolojan: The Government could cut salaries and incomes for a short while

The Government has two options in managing the country’s economy: either to take drastic measures and reduce the spending that does not regard salaries and pensions, or to cut pensions and salaries. PD-L vice-president Theodor Stolojan declared for Romanian radio station Realitatea FM that „cutting the salaries and pensions is an option. This is possible as well, for a brief period of time”.

Before meeting such a decision that had never been met before in Romania, the Government needs to analyse all the ways in which public funds are wasted. „Plenty of money is wasted on local feasts. (…) The Government needs to analyse all the spending, including the local ones, where the show goes on”, Stolojan explained.

Regarding the discussions with the International Monetary Find and the European Commission, the difficulty for the international funding bodies is that „they know that, from now on, Romania does not present any guarantees that it can deliver, by the end of the year, the engagements featured in the loan agreement: the pensions law, the fiscal responsibility law, approving the 2010 budget”.

Although the agreement arrangements have been respected until September 30, the Fund knows that we’re now in difficulty of carrying along on the same path. „In such a situation, one arrives at the conclusion that the loan should not resume, not even for respecting engagements by the end of September”, the lib-dem claimed.

„I believe that the IMF will ask for additional guarantees, which a temporary Government cannot provide”, Stolojan continued. According to him, the idea that the IMF should have a discussion with each party on its own has no legal significance for the Fund. „I could suggest a solution: the Parliament should quickly come up with a law project and adopt it, approving the 2010 budget”.