PM Emil Boc: Distinguished colleagues, before starting the current Government meeting, I should announce you an unfortunate event happened this morning. Sergeant Leu Sandu Valerică died in Afghanistan. He is from Brasov, was married and had a son. I propose you to keep a moment of silence.
Thank you! I ask the Minister of National Defence to follow the related procedures in such situations to support his family and to start institutional procedures.
Also, before getting to the current agenda, I will specify the following elements. About proposals to cut wages by 25%, I want to be very clear that this 25% reduction will be enforced to employees of national societies and companies too, to which the state has majority capital or state integral capital, including Eximbank, CEC Bank, and other state companies or societies, where, the state, in one form or another, is major shareholder or they have entire state capital. And the law that we will prepare will stipulate including the 25% reduction in related salary fund in ways that will be decided by the law, because we cannot just confine ourselves only to the budget employees, because they, in one form or other, benefit from state aid and they are all state employees in some form or other.
Secondly, regarding spending on goods and services, except that on public order, national security, I ask that you make a 20% cut in it, additionally to15% that we started in 2009. I am referring to the cut in transport costs, petrol cost, phone, foreign travel and other such goods. Here, we are not targeting the functioning of police, army, because there are services that cannot have a reduction in fuel. For the rest, I ask that, this 20% reduction in spending on goods and services at the ministries be enforced and we will translate it into the budget rectification.
Thirdly, regarding national companies under your authority, I ask you to stop any auction targeting cars, offices or other such products which have immediate impact and importance to the state budget and for normal functioning of institutions.
They can be postponed for better times, now; we need to focus all efforts to make major investments that Romania need, through the savings we make, including by stopping these auctions with cars, plasmas, corporate offices, national agencies subordinated to the Government. Each Minister is responsible for the stopping of these auctions at the level of the announced companies.
Minister Vladescu, the draft law we'll prepare, stipulates an additional tax for the second property. The first property is taxed normally, the same for all. Since the second property, there is a tax in addition to what we have currently, for us to bring extra revenues to the state budget and to have solidarity and an effort on the part of those who have several properties in Romania. And they will have to contribute to this effort of austerity that we currently do by additional taxation, from the second property, followed by third, fourth or many other properties, through their additional taxation on a proposal which will be put forward by the Ministry of Finance.
On Friday, there will be discussed in the Economic and Social Council (CES) the letter proposed by agreement with IMF, EC and World Bank. After CES meeting, we will meet and see exactly the conclusions, so that we can put forward the letter and prepare for the legislative package resulting from the corresponding letter.
Thanks.
Now I invite you to get to the agenda. The draft law on Romania's accession to the International Convention on Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures. Minister Vladescu, you have the floor.
Minister Sebastian Vladescu:
Good morning. The Revised Kyoto Convention is important for efficient international trade. The Contracting Parties undertake to clear, transparent customs regimes. And the changes that were established by the Brussels Protocol in June 1999 are linked to accelerating clearance of goods through the use of information technology and customs control techniques such as risk assessment and Customs audit which allow a set of companies to have free access to customs, without current procedures. This draft legislative act is bound to the acceptance and implementation of the acquis communautaire and of the instruments of the World Organization of Customs for harmonizing and simplifying customs procedures.

PM Emil Boc: If there are comments from colleagues? Minister of Interior? Please.
Minister Vasile Blaga:
No. In fact, in harbor, one cannot only work on risk analysis. We almost blocked it two days. We will need to work on general risk analysis, but otherwise, no one stops us where traffic is low: Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia. We check every car. That does not give us the opportunity to apply risk analysis, but it does not hinder the right to check all cars.
PM Emil Boc: It's all right. Unless there are observations, we consider the draft legislative act approved. Also, for Ministers Blaga and Vladescu, as written in the letter of intent that we have, the measures to combat tax evasion should be promoted in emergency regime, and of preparedness of regulatory framework, where necessary, in order to back you in your fight against tax evasion, and its decline.
Minister Sebastian Vladescu:
On the part of the Ministry of Finance, legislative amendments are prepared. Important in the next period, there will be institutional collaboration between ...
PM Emil Boc: Including legislative, if necessary to intervene.
Minister Sebastian Vladescu:
We will discuss on Friday, on our meeting including ...
Minister Vasile Blaga: And with the Prosecutor General.
Minister Sebastian Vladescu: ... and with the Prosecutor General on improving the legislative framework for implicit cooperation.
PM Emil Boc: I want you to know that you have, including legislative support to make more effective the action of combating tax evasion. The Government will support you in this important step you have ahead.
Point two, draft law for the acceptance by the Romanian Government of amendments adopted on June 30, 2007, in Brussels, to the Convention for establishing a Customs Cooperation Council. Minister Vladescu, please.
Minister Sebastian Vladescu: The Customs Cooperation Council was established following a convention in 1950. Romania is a member of it as of 1968. On June 2007, there was adopted a recommendation to amend two articles of the Convention establishing a Customs Cooperation Council, amendments to allow any customs or economic union to be party to the said Convention.
PM Emil Boc: Thank you. Any comments? If not, consider the draft law adopted and we send to Parliament for approval.