Former PM Ciolos to Dragnea: Country's budget not a bottomless pit

Former Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos replied to leader of the Social-Democrats, Liviu Dragnea, that the country's budget "is not a bottomless pit" and "cannot be administered to the likeness of Robin Hood," claiming that the Social Democratic Party (PSD) is covering for its "failures and false promises with diversions and propaganda," according to Agerpres.

2017-01-09 16:02:07

"The country′s budget is not a bottomless pit and cannot be administered to the likeness of Robin Hood, Mr. Liviu Dragnea," said Dacian Ciolos. "Your populist promises will be applied on the backs of those who work honestly and pay taxes, you will indebt our country and future. Even so, why didn't you say during the campaign that you will increase taxes for part of the employees and you did that in the second session of the Government?" wrote Ciolos, on Monday, on his Facebook page.

According to the former PM, there is "no ten billion hole in the budget," as Liviu Dragnea claims.

"Confronted probably with a few figures and realities of Romanian economy that I have been saying for months, aware that he doesn't know how to get out of trouble to cover financially the promises made during the electoral campaign, Mr Liviu Dragnea pulls a trick and announces that he supposedly had found, I quote, ′a ten-billion gap in the budget′. For any person with the least economic knowledge, such a ′gap′ would have meant either lower income or higher spending than foreseen and anyway it should have appeared in the budgetary deficit - which is not the case. This "hole" does NOT exist," Ciolos stated.

He added that in 2016, revenues were bigger than in 2015, and the final deficit was below the one foreseen.

"As a matter of fact, in 2016, revenues were bigger than in 2015 and the final deficit was below the one foreseen and approved by the Government at the same time with last year's budget. Moreover, in December we completely reimbursed companies 2.1 billion worth VAT, without leaving any pressure on next year's budget, as used to, precisely to ease the burden of the future Government. The rest are tales. In 2017 there is another budget. In case this year Mr Dragnea cannot pay his electoral promises, he cannot blame last year's budget. But, Mr Dragnea doesn't pay attention to details, does he? For the rest, it is the same modus operandi used by PSD while we governed: it's the technocrats' fault. PSD covers up for its failures and false promises with diversions and propaganda," stated Ciolos.

The PSD chairman, Liviu Dragnea, has stated, on Sunday, that he will consult with the Social-Democrats to decide the possible initiation of a parliament inquiry commission, given that the 2017 budget has a gap worth around 10 to 14 billion lei. He said that he considers the possibility of initiating an inquiry commission to check the decisions taken at the Finance Ministry since the last budget revision.