The Romanian Prime Minister announced and explained the decision that the Government will implement starting next week, and that is to continue to implement an economic model that the Government targeted in its two-year term related to economic growth and creating new jobs.
“We have made the absolutely necessary social repairs, restituting cut salaries and pensions, lowering unemployment by creating jobs, raising the minimum wage, opening hospitals, schools, and providing a bigger budget for education and health, "he said.
"We have also had as priority a more sustainable economic growth and we succeeded in 2013 and in early 2014 to register the highest growth in the European Union, to unlock all EU funded programs to observe the deficit targets established by the Government in partnership with the international financial institutions, to provide facilities for SMEs, larger subsidies for agriculture and state aid scheme for new investment and jobs. "
Following talks with the IMF, Prime Minister Victor Ponta announced the lowering of the social insurance contributions by five percentage points from October 1, with a budget of 850 million impact without increasing the budget deficit.
He said that the measure will be introduced through a bill that the government will send next week to Parliament and it is a decision that the Government assumes.
Asked whether the reduction of CAS in October met with the IMF agreement, the Prime Minister said that there is no agreement nor disagreement because the Fund only requires compliance with macroeconomic targets, and when salaries and pensions were cut there was no agreement of the Fund.
“The Agreement with the IMF remains in force, it is not interrupted, terminated or canceled ", Ponta said.
Victor Ponta assured that the impact of the CAS reduction in October will be covered only from the revenues to the budget.
Official sources told Mediafax earlier that the Government and the International Monetary Fund have reached an agreement to reduce CAS by five percentage points from July 1.