Politics 3 min read By Callum Montgomery
Oana Gheorghiu wants state company reform to continue under new government
Former deputy prime minister Oana Gheorghiu said she hopes the new Romanian government will continue reforming loss-making state companies, and she rejected claims of a hidden budget hole or unpaid bills.
Former deputy prime minister Oana Gheorghiu has said she hopes the new Romanian government will continue the reform of state-owned companies, arguing that loss-making enterprises should be largely shut down because their losses are paid by every Romanian taxpayer. Speaking on Digi 24, she said she wanted the new cabinet to succeed, including in this area.
Gheorghiu, who served as deputy prime minister in the government led by Ilie Bolojan, said the losses of state companies come directly out of the pocket of each citizen. She expressed the hope that most of the loss-making firms have already been closed or are close to being wound up, and said the reform process should not stall after the change of government. In her view, the reform is a matter of public money that cannot be left to drain indefinitely from the state budget, and she framed the issue as one that goes beyond party lines.
On fiscal policy, she said she had not yet seen any concrete discussions about cutting VAT or other taxes. She also noted that there has been talk of not raising taxes next year, which she said leaves the door open to other options without ruling anything in or out. Her comments suggest that the question of revenue measures remains unsettled as the new government prepares its approach to the budget.
Gheorghiu also addressed claims about the state of public finances. She denied that there is a budget hole or unpaid bills, saying that some invoices had not yet been issued and would be settled later. In her account, payments can only be made within the approved budget, and any additional spending would require a reallocation of existing funds rather than new money. The distinction she drew is between obligations that have not yet reached the state's books and debts that are already due.
She accused the Social Democratic Party, PSD, of talking as though Romania maintains a form of dual accounting on the deficit, describing such a claim as dangerous because it sends signals to rating agencies. Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare has also rejected the idea, saying the dual-accounting claim is false. He pointed to two methodologies, the national and the European one, and said the relevant figures are public, which means the deficit can be checked by anyone who wishes to compare the two calculations.
Her remarks came in the wake of a debate in parliament on a simple motion tabled by the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, AUR, in which the deficit and the state of public spending featured prominently. The exchange underlines how sharply the political parties disagree over the government's financial figures as it takes on the consolidation of the budget, and it shows that the dispute over how the deficit is presented is likely to continue in the chamber.
Source: economedia.ro
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