UPDATE/Iohannis: Budget proposed by PSD-ALDE shows total contempt for Romanians' expectations

President Klaus Iohanis believes the budget proposed by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) - the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) ruling coalition, adopted by Parliament on Friday, shows the majority coalition's total contempt for Romanians' expectations, "who want a responsible and credible governance."

"On the Executive level, however, things are completely different from what the citizens want, and this budget represents the most eloquent example of a governance putting the Romanians' future on hold," the Presidential Administration points out.

According to a release sent to AGERPRES on Friday, PSD-ALDE came to Parliament with a budget that cannot be executed.

"With a rigid and authoritarian approach, PSD-ALDE came to Parliament, with an unconceivable delay from the legal deadline, with a budget that cannot be executed. The unprecedented delay of the budget shows, in fact, the lack of real solutions of the governance in relation to the promises made," the Presidential Administration shows.

The release says that the National Liberal Party (PNL) has managed to pass an amendment bringing real benefits to millions of families of Romania: the significant increase in the children allowances.

"In spite of PSD's attempt to fast-forwardly adopt this budget, the National Liberal Party has managed to pass an amendment bringing real benefits to millions of families in Romania: the significant increase in children allowances. It is an important victory of the opposition, which could have not be singular, if the PSD-ALDE majority had been interested in a real manner in identifying those measures meant to lead to prosperity and a better life for Romanians," the Presidential Administration points out.

The head of state underscores that the ruling coalition's budget, "based on speculative funding sources" neglects the persons with disabilities and the orphans.

"Based on speculative funding sources, the PSD-ALDE budget neglects the persons with disabilities and the orphan children. PSD does not only ignore the situation of persons with disabilities, but cynically punishes hundreds of thousands persons with serious disabilities, as well as their families. In the PSD-ALDE budget for 2019, the expenditure for persons with disabilities are entirely left in the task of local authorities. In the context of the critical situation in which the local authorities are brought in respect to budget allotments, there is the risk of being unable to pay all expenses corresponding to persons in the social assistance system," the release reads.

In this context, President Klaus Iohannis is drawing the attention that the budget is built of a superficial manner, based on overestimated figures in relation to the economic realities, "neglects investments and damages the real needs of Romanians of benefiting from infrastructure, motorways, schools, hospitals, kindergartens, namely all that the PSD has promised and fails to do."

"It is unacceptable to sell illusions to Romanians and present the 2019 budget as a budget of investments, when, in reality, the budget provides the significant reduction in investments from national funds on a local level from 2018," the President says.

In this context, the head of state stresses, "it is so much more revolting the excessive increase in the funds earmarked for parliamentary parties."

"The PSD is taking full advantage of these increases which it awarded itself with such generosity, while it didn't find budget resources to cover of a balanced manner the needs in so many essential and deficient areas," the President says.

President Klaus Iohannis underlines that "PSD and ALDE have taken populism and demagoguery to the realm of serious irresponsibility, endangering the economic stability and predictability."

"The PSD-ALDE coalition does nothing but prove incompetence, opportunism and bad-faith by assuming this budget lacking rigor and responsibility. Instead of being a credible and sustainable budget, meant to consolidate the public finance situation and providing Romania with the necessary predictability, the PSD-ALDE budget is again opposing the economic realities and the citizens' expectations," the head of state concludes.

Parliament's joint plenary session on Friday adopted the 2019 draft budget law, by 275 to 122 votes and two abstentions. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - author: Adina Panaitescu, editor: Cristina Zaharia)

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