The measures to cut by 25% the wages in budget sector and by 15% the pensions are temporary, effective until December 31, 2010, Prime Minister Emil Boc stated, at the end of the Executive meeting that took place at Victoria Palace.
PM Emil Boc stated that the constitutional basis for the enforcement of such temporary measures, to reduce the salaries in the budgetary sector and the pensions, is Article 53 of the Constitution, which was used in November 2009 too, when the unpaid leave of three days per month for budget sector employees was enforced.
"This was confirmed by the Constitutional Court, by ruling no. 1414 of November 4, 2009, which stipulated that such a restrictive measure does not concern the substance of law, but is determined by a global financial crisis likely to affect, in the absence of appropriate measures, the country's economic stability and national security implicitly " Prime Minister Emil Boc stated.
Prime Minister contradicted assertions, which he described as "excessive", according to which the implications of Article 53 of the Constitution would pave the way for establishing a state of siege or emergency. "It has nothing to do with them and I want to be well understood. For such situations, we have Article 93 of the Constitution. Here it is about a specified period of limitation of the exercise of some rights. The concept of national security in the Law 51/1991 is defined as the condition of legitimacy, stability and social, economic and political balance. We are currently in such a situation when we temporarily need to ensure the economic security of the country, to take these austerity measures. Not for other reasons. And these measures are temporary, " PM Emil Boc has stated.
Also in European practice, the ECHR ruled in a case of 2009 - Andreeva against Latvia - that the law guarantees the right to a pension, but not the extent of that right, the amount. "The amount varies depending on how much this system can afford at a time - and here the European Court said:" the amount of pension may be amended by a subsequent act of equal value and only for the future, ie the law”. Therefore, from this point of view, the European practice enshrines the fact that in some situations to correct the budget deficit, you also need such measures "PM Emil Boc has stated.