“That red plague left her at 36%”

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu PHOTO/ Hepta

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said, on Wednesday, May 8, when asked how the public debt reached 52.4% of GDP in February 2024 in the PSD-PNL government, that it is because of the Cîţu government, because it made loans of 200 billions of lei.

The Head of the Executive emphasized that, “during this year, the public debt will reach 48-49%” and announced a meeting with the ministers to discuss the milestones in the PNRR and especially the investments foreseen there.

“Well, I tell you – since Mr. Cîţu’s government, because when PSD governed, that red plague left the public debt at 36%. Mr. Cîţu came who made loans of 200 billion lei. I repeat, 200 billion lei. Normally, I also have credit at the bank and you, you pay the first installments, when you have to give the money. Correct? If you want to buy a house, you think that the house you buy is not enough for you, you have to furnish it, you have to pay for it, and then you pay higher installments after three or four years. So did Mr. Cîţu. He incurred 200 billion lei in debt, nowhere in the world does it happen that the party that won the elections is not designated to have the proposal for prime minister, a right-wing coalition was formed that worked, I think, for about eight months. Until then, we all know the situation that has been reached”, said Marcel Ciolacu, when asked how the PSD-PNL government managed to have the public debt exceed 52% of the GDP, on Wednesday in Buzau.

The PSD leader added that, “during this year, the public debt will reach 48-49%”.

“There was a peak in payments and it’s normal. What is most important is that in the first three months we have investments already settled, payments made by the Romanian state, some from European funds, some from the state budget, of 30 billion. We have the highest percentage of GDP for investments in the history of Romania, 7.2%, approximately 100 billion, about half of what Cîţu borrowed”, added the prime minister.

He added that he will have a meeting with all the ministers to discuss the milestones in the PNRR and especially the investments provided there. “I am not going to stop any investment in Romania”, Ciolacu added.

“Next week I will have a meeting with all the ministers and regarding milestones and investments, especially in PNRR. At this rate, I think we’ll end the year at 9%. It is true that first there is a delay. First you spend the money and then you start collecting it, it comes back to you in fees and taxes. (…) I risked this and I’m not going to stop any investment in Romania and you see everywhere you look, in any commune, in any municipality, you will see investments and especially in large infrastructure, and a delay was created, because first I spend a lot, then I get my money back from fees and taxes. I did a bit of tidying up. I hope that the minister will also come with the ANAF reorganization. In other words, although I made the answer longer, we do have a plan and all colleagues from the Romanian Government, regardless of political color, understand each other and we all understood that we must have an integrated plan”, explained the head of the Government.

USR leader, Cătălin Drula, points out that public debt reached 52.4% of GDP in February 2024, which is a violation of the fiscal-budgetary responsibility law. On Tuesday, he asked Prime Minister Ciolacu to immediately present the plan to reduce expenses and added that “Romania can no longer function on debt, with loans at some of the highest interest rates in Europe.”