Iohannis, on pensions: CCR found Parliament cannot make decisions that put finances in difficulty

President Klaus Iohannis criticized the Social Democrats' intention to make changes to the budget revision, so that the pension point can be increased by 40%, stressing that, according to the Constitutional Court, no decisions can be made in Parliament which put the country's public finances in difficulty.

"It is a political, populist, electoral-oriented approach, without any foundation. We have discussed these matters before, the state can pay only as much as it is available and not more. The government has motivated countless times why the increase of pensions - attention, the increase of pensions! - is as much as it is. I have even heard some people in the party you have mentioned impertinently affirming in the public space that pensions have been cut. No, pensions have been increased and every pensioner will be able to check the pension payslip. But, more than that, this was explained by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, the increase was not possible," the president told a press conference held at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace.

Klaus Iohannis added that when the economy recovers, solutions will be found for the expected increases.

"Of course, after the economy recovers, because we have a problem with the economy, after it recovers, solutions will surely be found to come up with the increases that are expected, everyone is waiting for them and we can understand, I can very easily understand this, but to come to Parliament now and say that from the Opposition you know better than the government how much money there is, it seems to me a totally counterproductive approach. And I would like to emphasize in this way an issue which I admit I liked,the Constitutional Court found that no decisions can be taken in Parliament that put the country's public finances in difficulty, and this seems to me to be a very important matter. Nota bene: PSD cannot put the public finances under stress from the Opposition. It would be absurd and they know the motivation very well, they played with this legislation, they deceived the pensioners at that time, although they knew very well that this increase would not be possible," said Iohannis.

PSD deputies' leader Alfred Simonis said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Ludovic Orban will receive a special pension and does not worry about Romania's elderly, and most likely next week the Social Democrats will make the change to the budget revision, so that pensions are increased by 40%.