Romanian parties admit responsibility for losing 770 million in EU funds after pay law delay

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8 days · 5 summary articles
Romania’s four largest political parties—PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR—jointly assumed responsibility for the loss of €770 million in EU recovery funds after failing to agree on a public-sector pay law by the 31 August PNRR deadline, President Nicușor Dan announced on Wednesday.
Dan said the parties had pledged not to submit separate drafts and would now adopt the law by year-end, respecting the wage envelope agreed with the European Commission. “The law is almost finalized from a technical standpoint,” he added, noting that the allocated budget could not meet all union demands .
PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu blamed the government for failing to produce “a good, fair law accepted by society,” while interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan accused PSD of sabotaging the process to preserve “a system of privileges” for some public employees. Bolojan cited PSD’s tenure at the Labor Ministry, where three successive ministers failed to finalize a draft since 2022, and said the party had repeatedly inflated wage-envelope proposals .
Interim Labor Minister Dragoș Pîslaru said PSD bore “primary responsibility” for the collapse, alleging the party had blocked consultations and left no draft during its 4.5 years in charge of the ministry. He stated his team’s final proposal, initially budgeted at 12.1 billion lei, was trimmed to about 10 billion lei after a 7 August Moody’s downgrade warning .
UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor argued against rushing an inadequate bill, stating that “we do not legislate for the European Commission” and that the current draft risked cutting existing wages and left unresolved issues in education, health and social services. He called the €770 million loss serious but warned long-term costs would be higher if a flawed law were passed under deadline pressure .
The Senate on Wednesday also passed the Integrity Law, including the contested “Fritz amendment,” despite USR opposition and warnings from European Parliament leaders Manfred Weber and Valérie Hayer that the measure could undermine democracy. Premier Bolojan defended PNL’s vote, calling one provision “profoundly immoral” but prioritizing the PNRR timeline .
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