Grindeanu asks PM Niculescu to assume government responsibility on two reforms, and promises no tax rises in 2027

Two reforms for the prime minister

On Monday, 26 October, PSD president Sorin Grindeanu said the party will ask Prime Minister Luca Niculescu to have the government assume responsibility for two reforms. The first is administrative-territorial reorganisation, which would merge small localities while keeping public services for citizens, and Dragoș Benea, a member of the European Parliament, will coordinate it for the PSD. The second is restructuring of the government apparatus, which means cutting and merging agencies and reorganising or liquidating state companies that are loss-making or no longer justified, with Marian Neacșu, described as deputy prime minister, coordinating it for the party. Grindeanu set March 2027 as the deadline for both, to be reached before the 2027 budget is finalised. He said the two reforms, which also affect the budget, should come first and the 2027 budget after them.

Taxes and the 2027 budget

Speaking after a PSD leadership meeting, Grindeanu said taxes for Romanians and Romanian companies will not rise in 2027. Asked whether the finance minister had guaranteed this, he replied that he was speaking as party president.

“Next year, taxes for Romanians and Romanian companies will not rise.”

Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare did not rule out tax increases in 2027, but said he does not want them. Speaking to Digi24, he argued that any new programme that is not budgeted needs an identified funding source before it is launched.

“I do not want new taxes and levies, but we need sustainability.”

Nazare also said there is no plan for 2027 to tax property at market value, adding that he hears such a danger raised in public discussion.

Criticism of the austerity course

Grindeanu tied the debate to the former government led by Ilie Bolojan, which he described as an austerity policy and called governing with the axe. He accused the PNL of raising state spending by 31 billion lei compared with 2025 and noted that the party had voted for that government.

“I will not make the mistake of getting lost in political conflicts.”

He framed the PSD as a balancing force between populism without solutions and an austerity that impoverishes people and blocks the economy. The party, he said, wants to back an approach that avoids both a heavier fiscal burden on people and companies and measures without financial cover.

Ministers and state finances

Grindeanu said he had asked ministers to present the measures they will take to relaunch the economy and protect the purchasing power of vulnerable people and the middle class. This week, ministers have urgent items left by the previous government, including money for UPU and Ambulance, drought compensation, the resumption of sheep exports, saving as much PNRR money as possible, and preparing the opening of a new section of the Pitești-Sibiu motorway. He also demanded that the full financial position of the state be made public as soon as possible, including unpaid invoices, deferred debts, overdue VAT refunds and other payment obligations. Grindeanu framed the disclosure as a clean-up after austerity rather than a complaint about inherited problems.