Ruling coalition leaders have agreed on the final form of the package of economic and social measures designed to protect the population and the economy from the effects of the crises facing Romania, and promised they would officially present them next week. The plan is worth some 3.5 billion EUR, of which 1.4 billion will be covered by the EU. Finance Minister Adrian Câciu has discussed the plan in Brussels with EU officials. The package includes 50 EUR vouchers for vulnerable families, an increase in meal vouchers from 4 to 6 EUR, doubling the meal allowance for inpatients as well as a special allowance for purchasing fuel. PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu also referred to the draft law on prices for construction materials:
“Investments are blocked across the country due to the price hikes for construction materials, which were not caused by policy-making, but by the war in Ukraine. It’s important to offset some of these effects and keep inflation in check. First we need to get investments going, then provide support in order to strike a balance and allow inflation to drop”.
Marcel Ciolacu also said Parliament is analyzing a proposal forwarded by SMEs to increase the minimum salary by some 40 EUR, tax-free. The Government also decided that all employees affected by the war in Ukraine will receive an allowance paid from the unemployment funds. According to the Labor Ministry, the measure will remain in force until the end of the year, in the case of companies that have been directly or indirectly prevented from doing business in Ukraine, the Russian Federation and Belarus, as well as for employees in Romanian enterprises that are subject to international sanctions.
The decisions follow protests staged by 35 trade federations both in the public and the private sector. Unionists are calling for support measures to offset the economic and social fallout of the war in Ukraine, and also demand emergency measures to guarantee Romania’s energy and food safety, amidst the soaring prices for electricity, gas and fuel. Similar protests have been staged in several other European states against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Daniela Budu, Radio Romania International
