On Sunday, 18 October, designated prime minister Luca Niculescu met the ministers he has proposed for his future government at Vila Lac, in a session that political sources cited by Antena 3 described as lasting nearly three hours. Presidential adviser Eugen Tomac also took part. According to the same sources, Niculescu told the ministers they had to succeed despite the difficult conditions Romania faces, and asked them to act as one team with unified messaging.
In his Facebook post after the meeting, Niculescu wrote that the coming period would not be easy.
“It is not going to be an easy period. There are many problems that cannot be postponed any longer, and many Romanians are waiting, rightly, for solutions.”
He also said the ministers come from different backgrounds, some from politics and others from academia, culture and business, and that they would form one team.
“We will form a single team, with a single goal: to make things work better in Romania.”
The discussions covered the budget situation, pension indexation, the new wage law, the budget rectification and the draft 2027 budget. Florin Manole, the proposed labour minister, reportedly argued that the government must first establish the budget resources available before any pension increase is announced, and that the figure should be checked with the Finance Ministry. Sources described an agreement in principle on indexation, with its financial impact still to be analysed. Alexandru Nazare, the proposed finance minister, reportedly told colleagues that talks on economic recovery could only follow an improvement in Romania's rating outlook, and pointed to National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) receipts running below estimates. Talks with unions are expected to begin only after these questions are clarified.
Ilie Bolojan, president of the PNL, was expected to sign a support agreement with Niculescu on Sunday afternoon. Bolojan said after the party leadership met on Saturday that the document commits Niculescu to keep the deficit targets Romania has set, and that it stays in force until the 2027 budget law is voted. The PNL leadership decided to back the investiture despite objections from some liberals. PSD, PNL, UDMR, the national minorities group and the Uniți pentru România group have expressed support, and if they vote for the cabinet in plenary they would bring 279 votes, against the 233 needed. PNL and UDMR have said they are willing to vote for the investiture without joining the government. The proposed cabinet has 18 ministers, including two delegated ministers, mostly from PSD with the rest independent. USR has said it will vote against.
Data from the article text
The ministers will be heard by parliamentary committees from 19 October, and the joint session of Parliament will vote on the investiture on 20 October. Mediafax and HotNews give the start of that vote as 14:00, while Libertatea puts it at noon. President Nicușor Dan designated Niculescu, the fourth prime ministerial nomination in five months.
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The meeting at Vila Lac lasted nearly three hours, with presidential adviser Eugen Tomac present. Pension indexation and the 2027 budget dominated the talks, and the PNL is set to sign a support deal.
AI text based on reports by G4Media.ro, Ziare.com, adevarul.ro and other publishers. Published .