Luca Niculescu says Romania cannot afford to lose Dacia as voluntary departures begin

Nomination and negotiations

Nicușor Dan named Luca Niculescu prime minister-designate on Monday evening, 5 October, making him the fourth prime minister the head of state has nominated in the last four months, after Eugen Tomac and Adrian Veștea in June and Siegfried Mureșan in September. Niculescu, who is state secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and coordinator of Romania's OECD accession, said on Digi 24 that the nomination was the president's decision. He said Dan explained his reasons during several discussions, though he did not describe them, and that the talks were not long. On Thursday, 8 October, he held his first negotiations on forming a government, first with the PSD, then the PNL and finally the UDMR. None of the three parties has said it will refuse to vote for his cabinet, and Libertatea reported, based partly on stenographic records, that the PSD discussed in an internal meeting backing the Niculescu government for half a year.

When you are in public service, as I am, and when the President of Romania asks you to occupy this so important post, I think you cannot refuse.

Government programme and parliamentary arithmetic

Niculescu has 10 days from his nomination to come before Parliament with a list of ministers and a government programme. He said the programme is still being drafted and that he wants to file it on Thursday, 15 October 2026, together with the proposed ministers. A government needs at least 233 votes in Parliament before it can take office. He said the wage law and the administration law are priorities, and that the administration needs reform. He did not promise a pay rise, but he described the wage law as a priority. The government of Bolojan had also prepared a wage law, which was criticised by several social groups and never reached a vote in Parliament.

Dacia under pressure

Niculescu called Dacia one of the emblems of the Romanian economy and said it accounts for two to four percent of GDP and roughly 10 to 12 percent of exports. Dacia announced a new wave of voluntary departures, linked to problems in the car industry and to the new strategy of Renault. Sources told Știrile ProTV that about 160 employees at the Mioveni plant are targeted. The programme started on 5 October 2026 and is open to employees who want to end their individual employment contract by mutual agreement. A participant in the process told the same station that management said the programme is voluntary. Information sent to employees also shows that the Mioveni plant will temporarily halt activity on 9 and 12 October 2026.

Romania cannot afford to lose Dacia. And everything that is necessary for Dacia to remain will be put into practice.

OECD accession

Romania is the most advanced of the eight candidate countries seeking OECD membership, having obtained 24 of the 25 formal opinions required. Niculescu said one small detail remains to be resolved, and that it will be resolved, and that it will be simpler with a government with full powers. He said Romania has carried out more than 100 reforms during the accession process, and that he worked with almost all parties and institutions. He compared the accession to joining NATO and the European Union, describing it as a national project. He said the OECD currently has 38 member states.

Technically speaking, we are ready.

Social mood and pensions

Asked about dissatisfaction in society amid the political crisis, Niculescu said people he meets on the street mostly talk about financial hardship, falling purchasing power and bills. He said he understands this because he lives in the same city as them. He said Romania has developed a great deal over the last 20 years, but that inequalities remain between regions, between rural areas and cities, and within the school system. He said the state must intervene over the long term so that all Romanians have hope, not only those with money. He also promised that there will be an indexation of pensions if he becomes prime minister, without committing to a salary increase.

Optimism is not decreed, it is created.