Press statements by PM Victor Ponta before the meeting within USL
Reporter: The intention to take some fiscal measures as of July 1st relative to decreasing the tax for microenterprises, the lump -sum tax, Mrs. Grapini told about them, that a conclusion has been reached.
PM Victor Ponta: We study all solutions and finally, Mr. Chitoiu as Vice Premier and Finance Minister will announce everything we can do as of July 1st. But, surely, any solutions we adopt, we negotiate them with international institutions too.
Reporter: Could you tell us the reason? It applies as of February, not very long time passed. Why you want to change this tax now, at a very short time since its implementation?
PM Victor Ponta: I do not know why you ask me, to be very frankly.
Reporter: The turnover tax for a microenterprise is enforced as of February.
PM Victor Ponta: Allow me, and I hope you are not upset too much, I will ask Mr. Chitoiu to answer your questions related to taxes at a much in detail level.
Reporter: But, for instance with…
Reporter: But the VAT on bread will be it imposed to all chain, or …?
PM Victor Ponta: It cannot be imposed but to the whole chain, we discussed that.
Reporter: Will be enforced as of June 1st?
PM Victor Ponta
July. Only from rectification, because we have to earmark, I think that there are 250 millions lei from elsewhere. But I want to try this experiment. I announced those from IMF, and they said: earmark the money elsewhere, do not follow just the idea that in fact, you will recover the money from tax evasion.
Reporter
On shale gas exploitation, do you have counter opinions or whatever, criticism from your fellow MPs?
PM Victor Ponta
No. Everybody wants an accurate information, and afterwards, and I want this, a partnership which in my view, has not functioned for many years, between Government and the parliamentary majority. I do not want the Government to impose its view and I want to think that we make together all our decisions/
Reporter
Have you requested a rally of USL elected next week to refute the amendment put forward to the fundamental law by Traian Basescu?
PM Victor Ponta
Mr. Zgonea and Mr. Antonescu who deals with amending the Constitution have showed, and it is a technical discussion I have not attended, about the fact that there cannot be two projects at the same time, but there has to be only one project.
Reporter
You further stated that there are divergences of opinion between USL leaders and Senators regarding …
PM Victor Ponta
No, a point of view. We announced the idea of having a proportional vote at the Chamber of Deputies and Senate to keep the uninominal, but not this uninominal, this with redistribution, but the purely one. Therefore, whoever ranks first goes to Senate. Senators are not very delighted by this system. We will decide together and …in the end, there is no such fundamental difference, but I stated very clearly and everybody understood is that both Crin Antonescu and I, we cannot give up in front of the idea of reducing the number of lawmakers. Here, everybody understood.
Reporter
When you say Senators, do you refer to USL Senators? More of PSD, more of PNL?
PM Victor Ponta
No, we have discussed with our USL Senators, and some of them tell us to do as it was before 2004.
Reporter
Were not the Senators supposed to represent the regions? The issue has been raised so at a certain point in time.
PM Victor Ponta
This is why we have to advance with all projects once, but I do not think it is a fundamental divergence. We will reach a solution and what matters is that we have the electoral law this year, in order to avoid the situation in 2012 when we did not have electoral law because Boc Cabinet was not able to draft it, and afterwards, when we drafted it, the CCR ruled that it is not possible to be drafted one year before elections. Therefore, it is good to know from 2013 the rules of the game in 2016, since, as time passes, each one will make calculations and will tell no. PDL that agreed with the uninominal vote last year, did not agree as they were about to lose, and they could not enter Parliament. Therefore, if you make the rules in time, you do not face the last year’s problems. Thank you.

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Statements by USL co - Presidents, Victor Ponta and Crin Antonescu during the meeting of the parliamentary groups

PM Victor Ponta ... I think you live it day by day. Whatever you do, you are told that it is not possible. Let us pass in the stage where with this important majority and already government run, to show what can be done. I conveyed you for consideration and hopefully approval, the draft law that unlocks a very old case regarding Rompetrol and Năvodari refinery. I say to the press, I want to inform you that we lost in court, so we could not obtain any money; we had 40 of something percent from the company, the threat of insolvency was real and in that case, we did not recover a penny but also lose jobs and investments. That is what the Government negotiated, you approve or not, we will cash in a very good price for a number of shares. Furthermore, there is the obligation undertaken by contract, to unfold an investment fund of one billion dollars, and we have certitude that further on, Romania will be for Kazahstan a gateway for investment in Europe.
Other problem we have to debate, and the decision belongs to you, not to the Government, the Government puts forward, but you, the Parliament will decide, the explorations and our energy development capacity. We have a pretty good activity, the President of ANRM is here, I visited everything which can be deemed as offshore explorations. We have the chance to be independent from the energy standpoint in few years. At the same time, following the US model, at the European level, the explorations for unconventional and shale gas as it is more directly known, are things that not only Romania, Poland, countries in the regions do already, and probably, at the next week European Council, it will be discussed at the level of the European Union. It is about explorations and if in 4-5 years, there will be noticed that we have reserves, cheap gas for our industry and population, while observing all environment standards. The same will happen with other projects. I intend that you, Parliament, decide on the re-opening through a draft legislative act, on law, of re-opening or unlocking some mining projects. Not only the Government should assume such responsibilities, we are partners, Parliament and Government, and in the end, the most transparent debates take place in Parliament. We present you in the draft laws the stage of negotiations the Government held, the budget impact, the economic impact. One thing is important, and I conclude with this: we should have an extraordinary opportunity to unlock economically Romania and this is achievable only if we are together, the parliamentary majority and the Government, the political will and the courage, neither one is missing to us. Thirdly, and I will ask here President Antonescu as he took over this responsibility, we should pass the draft Constitution revision designed until the end of session and I will ask all members of the Commission and Senators, to make an effort not to take their leave without adopting the text in the Senate.
Thus, we can hold discussions, debates in the summer, to send it to the Venice Commission. In September, we will adopt in the Chamber of Deputies and we will have referendum in October. The idea of the quorum will be increasingly difficult later than October.

There is the law on referendum at the Senate, and I will also ask the people of the special committee led by Mr. Zgonea, but on the basis of the discussions we have in groups and USL, to progress with the electoral law. Here we are in the next stage: at the Chamber of Deputies, all USL -, I hope you, you agree that we must return to the proportional system which is practiced in all the other European countries, except the UK. At the Senate house, there is a small dispute between USL leadership and Senate. We proposed that Senators be elected uninominal, Senators suggest to be elected proportionally. I'm interested in making a decision together, we can not impose, it would not make any sense, but the message is very clear, we cannot give back because we both signed a legislative initiative in this respect last year, regarding the number of MPs. The Chamber of Deputies will further comprise 300, the Senate will have 80-100 depending on the voting system that we adopt. These are the topics Mr. President and then we will discuss it with each of colleagues.

 

Statements by PM Victor Ponta after the meeting of USL leadership

Reporter:Mr. Prime Minister, in the weekend, the Vice Prime Minister Chitoiu told that at the end of last year, there was discussed in USL about the possibility that the private area salaries, over 1000 EUR to be overcharged. Is in this moment an open topic for USL?

PM Victor Ponta:I do not know what has been discussed in weekend. I apologize but in weekend, I stay a little bit calmer. I know I came now to discuss with our parliamentary groups first to thank them for support, because it is about here a joint effort, of Government, Parliament, to solve the problem of restitutions and I was very glad – you saw too that the Constitutional Court considered that the law observed the Constitution. This means that over the next period, we can not only send to Strasbourg, to ECHR, the law but we can start to enforce it as correctly as possible, as best as possible, secondly, because we have some priorities which we discuss with our lawmakers too. By 4.00 p.m., we will have the USL meeting regarding Constitution, electoral law, economic projects of the Government, because practically now, finishing with the restitution law, and with the other things, I want 95 percent of the Government’s efforts to move towards the economic projects, many of them waiting for many years or locked for various ways. Last but not least, if you ask me about that solidarity tax, we discussed it in January with IMF including, when we have a decision, we announce it.

Reporter:Do you aim at those from private area too?

PM Victor Ponta:It was a discussion regarding the fact that it would be Constitutional or unconstitutional. As long as salaries, as CCR said were cut only at state employees, and not at private employees, the same would be further on. In fact, the main problem here, is how much is the difference between the highest income in the budget area or companies and authorities that are state owned entirely and the smallest income in the same respect and there, obviously, that between 18.000 -20.000 RON monthly is too a great difference. We will discuss about that. No. Is it clear now? I am sure that it will not be clear, but you will ask me and I will tell you once again.

Reporter:In connection with state employments, it is about one to one parity. I want to ask you if this measure was previously discussed with IMF.

PM Victor Ponta: No. We will discuss it with the IMF. The idea is that this decision cannot be taken but in parallel with the cancellation of all unoccupied posts in this moment, because for us to occupy all blocked posts and to make available one by one, it would lead us to an increase in the budget sector that we cannot sustain from financial standpoint. In exchange, if we dismantle the unoccupied posts, it means that we will have fewer chiefs. Why are the posts kept unoccupied? We will eliminate chief posts, but afterwards, especially in healthcare and education, if an employee leaves, you may hire other on the spot.

Reporter:Mr. Prime Minister, you told earlier that it is time to take economic measures. Can you tell us about what are you thinking?

PM Victor Ponta:It is now high time. It was all time. We can channel all efforts in this respect. Therefore, I refer to all those large economic projects locked for many years, because Romania has always been the country in which you are explained why it cannot be possible. For the rest, there are 1,000 “doctors” in Romania, I used inverted commas as they explain especially in the economic area why it is not possible,
The draft law on Rompetrol is sent as of last month. As of 2006, they explained to us that it is not possible, until we realized that we are about to enter into insolvency and losing all there, not 200 million as we receive on our shares, but to lose everything and close one of the biggest investment and missing the opportunity to have in Romania a gateway to Europe for investment from Kazakhstan. I made the decision. Sure there will be 1,000 doctors who tell us that they would have taken 700, 1000. Of course, my question is why they have not taken so far if they were so smart. I'm interested to unlock. The same thing with what we are discussing today, about energy sources. We want to have gas, first of all not to import anymore from Russia, we want to have it cheap, and we want to make the Romanian industry competitive, and surely the costs for population are smaller, then we have to have gas. If not, if we import from Russia, it will be expensive. It is very simple. With respect to shale gas, Romgaz has been exploiting for 20 years, in Transylvania, gas through this method, and nobody spoke about any danger. For the time being, it is only about exploration which is done through conventional methods. Therefore, there is absolutely no fear for environment. If after four – five years, and spending with explorations, about 300 millions are spent only this year in Vaslui, with explorations, but this leads to the conclusion that we have resources, in five years, a smarter Government will wonder whether or not we use the current resources or we go on importing from Russia, as I could see they want. I am talking about the fact that having this majority, this institutional stability, and in Parliament, fortunately, not only the USL, we have a very good dialogue with UDMR, with PP-DD, reasonable people, whom we do not necessarily agree always, but when important issues appear, when we discussed about budget, they did not vote it, but they understood how we built it. We discussed the Restitution Law with all of them, they tabled amendments to it. I have nothing to share with Dan Diaconescu but I talked and further talk to the PP-DD lawmakers. The same with UDMR. I think next week, it will be the UDMR Congress, I think I will attend it, I appreciate the way we can cooperate for Romania to go in the good direction. For the rest, the daily problems.