REPER co-chair Pislaru deems 2024 budget bad, misleading, unfair and highly politicised

The 2024 budget is "bad", "misleading", unfair and "highly politicised", said Tuesday MEP Dragos Pislaru, co-chair of REPER party.

"The budget proposed by the Government, the Social Democratic Party - National Liberal Party (PSD-PNL) coalition, is a bad budget, it is a misleading budget, and we are not the only ones saying this. The Fiscal Council shows that revenues are overestimated. We are talking about a 13 percent revenue growth projection that has no basis whatsoever. At the same time it is a bankrupt budget. The projection and the analysis of the Fiscal Council, and not only, show that there is a possibility, based on this budget, to reach a deficit of more than 6 percent. What does deficit mean? It means increasing the debt, it means burdening Romanians and especially young generations in the future," Pislaru told a press conference held at the Palace of Parliament.

According to him, next year's budget is, at the same time, "an unfair budget, which ultimately offers some resources to the mayors" and does not address the most vulnerable - children in poverty, unemployed young people.

"The budget is also a highly politicised budget. Subsidies for parties are increased, it is very clear how money is allocated to political fiefdoms. Therefore, from this point of view, it is clear that it is not about the interest of the citizen, but it is strictly about political interests, especially since the electoral part is coming. And last but not least, what I think is very important, it is a sloppy budget, poorly done. The whole procedure we are witnessing is a sham, it is being rushed through. (...) What we are seeing now is a total deprofessionalisation of the budgetary procedure," Pislaru said.