Government sworn in and first press conference

Luca Niculescu's government held its first meeting on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, at the Victoria Palace in Bucharest, and the prime minister then took questions at his first press conference. The cabinet includes ministers from the PSD alongside technocrats. Niculescu said the PSD had taken on the task of governing, that other parties had chosen not to join but still backed the cabinet, and that his own feelings counted for the least.

In the investiture vote in Parliament, Niculescu received 280 votes, well above the minimum of 233.

Votes received280

Minimum required233

Votes received

280 votes

Minimum required

233 votes

Data from the article text

Budget and the deficit target

Niculescu described the budget for next year as mandatory and said all parties understood this.

“The budget for next year is mandatory, and all parties understand this.”

He said the budget would respect the deficit target Romania has committed to while also aiming to boost growth so that people live better. Romania had cleared three rating agency reviews in the middle of this year, but only just, and the agencies return early next year, in 2027. Exact figures, he said, will come only after the fiscal position is clearer at the end of this year. He also listed the budget rectification and preparations for winter among the government's pressing tasks.

Taxes, pensions and CASS

Asked whether the government would introduce new taxes, Niculescu gave no firm answer.

“Obviously nobody wants to introduce new taxes, and we will do everything we can to protect the most vulnerable in any case.”

He said decisions on measures such as removing the health insurance contribution (CASS) on pensions above 3,000 lei or cutting VAT would be taken at government meetings rather than in televised statements. Speaking in Parliament, he announced that pensions would be indexed from 2027, after the reference value had been frozen for two years. Indexation would depend on the path of the deficit.

Under Law 360/2023, in force since 1 September 2024, the reference value was set at 81 lei in September 2024 and was meant to rise each January with inflation and real wage growth. The government suspended the 2025 increase through Ordinance 156/2024, and Law 141/2025 kept the value at 81 lei for 2026. Niculescu admitted the state could not immediately recover the lost purchasing power.

“We cannot promise an immediate recovery of the losses accumulated, but we have an obligation to protect the most vulnerable and to build the conditions for restoring real incomes.”

Labour minister Florin Manole said indexation was needed and that the deficit target could be met without placing the heaviest burden on the neediest. He said the process runs through statistics institute INS and the forecasting commission, then the Finance Ministry, then the prime minister. Manole cited economist Daniel Dăianu as also saying indexation is needed, and called the two years without it an injustice that has eroded pensioners' purchasing power.

Pillar 2 and what comes next

Niculescu left the door open to changes in the second pillar of pensions, the mandatory private system introduced in 2008. He said that pillar should normally remain as it is, that it was too early to be certain, and that he would return with more data. The pillar directs part of the social insurance contribution (CAS) into private funds chosen by workers, and PSD has previously tried to reduce those contributions or questioned nationalising the system.

Niculescu also pointed to better tax collection, hoped-for economic growth next year, higher investment and EU funds as sources of room in the budget. He said OECD accession would unlock funds from investors that only buy into OECD members, and that more news on these fronts could come in the week of 26 October 2026.