PM Orban: Special pensions for mayors, other local elected officials to be postponed again

The president of the PNL (National Liberal Party), Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, said in an interview with AGERPRES that he intends to issue a piece of legislation whereby the provision of the Administrative Code on the granting of special pensions to mayors, deputy-mayors, presidents and deputy-presidents of county councils is again postponed, showing that this could be done by the law of the state budget next year. "After the (parliamentary, ed. n.) elections, this must be debated in Parliament, because, even here it does not seem right, I believe that any person who holds a function of public dignity, be they parliamentarian, mayor, minister must have a decent income. And here we must know that they (the incomes, ed. n.) have grown for parliamentarians, and for ministers, and for mayors, and for presidents of county councils, their incomes have increased. When one has a decent, reasonable income, reflecting the responsibility and importance in society of that function, one will benefit on the contribution from a higher pension, so there is no need for a special pension," Orban explained. He showed that the provision of the Administrative Code on special pensions can be deferred by the law of the state budget until the legislation as a whole is clarified. Ludovic Orban also said that an emergency ordinance for the elimination of special pensions cannot be adopted because there is one draft in the Parliament debate and another is at the Constitutional Court of Romania. * * * The AGERPRES National News Agency will broadcast an interview with Prime Minister Ludovic Orban later on Sunday.AGERPRES(RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Mirela Barbulescu; EN - editor: Maria Voican)