The Romanian government was forced in the first 6 months of the pandemic to take a series of extremely important measures in order to manage as efficiently as possible the situation our country went through, and below you can find explanations for some of them.
"Today, after half a year of government, we have the highest economic growth in the European Union and more than 90 billion euros available for the development of Romania. We have a safe country with the strongest security guarantees, which prove all the more important since the Russian military invasion on our border has generated a devastating war. The security we enjoy, given by membership in NATO and the EU, but especially by the Strategic Partnership with the USA, offers Romania the protection of its territory, its economy and, above all, its citizens. And not only ours, the Romanians'.
If economic performance and safety are certainties today, the most important value that shines now is our Solidarity. The generosity of the Romanians and the mobilization of the authorities offered the over one million Ukrainians who crossed our border, since the invasion of their country, not only a safe shelter, but also proof of our ability to show our compassion and jump to the aid of those in need when required.
And the spirit of this solidarity is what also makes us responsible, those who govern Romania, going through a pandemic, energy crisis and war in the neighborhood.
The massive aid that we granted and we support as the main line of government effort was directed especially to the Romanians who needed help the most, those in the vulnerable categories, affected by the price increases.
The packages of measures implemented as soon as the prices of energy and natural gas started to rise at an intense pace came to support both households and the business environment. The mix of caps and offsets managed to save the economy without blocking or affecting the functioning of the free market to maintain supply chains. We have extended the protection against further possible price hikes until 31 March 2023, thus generating predictability, stability and confidence that the Government has the capacity to sustain these measures in the long term.
"Support for Romania" is the mechanism that we thought up, at the level of the Coalition, to provide the Government with the working tools to deal with the new effects of the crisis generated by the price increase, especially against the background of the war in the region. Millions of Romanians in the area of vulnerable categories benefit from a good part of the 17,3 billion lei from this package, including through vouchers for food and basic products. But, because our economic development depends on the evolution of the business environment, we allocated more than half of this money to economic measures, which would allow entrepreneurs to support their activities. To strengthen our food security, we have offered bonuses of hundreds of millions of euros for the processing of Romanian agricultural products and another 300 million euros to our farmers. Most of these measures, taken early, after consultations with social partners, unions, employers, are already being implemented and are generating concrete effects.
This week, a third package of measures was decided at the level of the Coalition. Complementing the steps taken so far, we will support Romanians and companies who have difficulties paying their installments, which they will be able to postpone for nine months. Pensioners with low incomes will receive an aid of 700 lei, and employees in the public system will receive a quarter of the wage difference due according to the Law on Unitary Wages.
As promised, the citizen is at the center of our Government Program, and for us to maintain the safety and development of this country we use all the resources we can access.
We have allocated the largest funds for investments since 1989 – 88 billion lei. Especially in times of crisis, as we unfortunately have to go through now, the economy needs financing, extensive infrastructure works, modernization and reform of the state. The 96 billion euros – European money from operational programs and PNRR represent the essential resource for development. Across the country, open construction sites will catch up with the accumulated gaps and provide jobs, modern infrastructure and opportunities for investors. In these six months of government, we have ensured that we maintain the capacity to absorb these huge sums of money by supporting builders, affected by rising energy, raw material and labor prices. More than 5 billion lei have been allocated to absorb these negative effects, to which another 300 million euros are added to support SMEs affected by price increases."
