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Kelemen Hunor calls for a carefully considered administrative reform and consultation with communities before localities are merged

Riana Gegiu

28 October 2026, 10:31

Current Affairs

Foto: Facebook/ Kelemen Hunor

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UDMR President Kelemen Hunor said on Wednesday, October 28, that Romania needs administrative reform, but that it must be carefully prepared and carried out after consulting communities. He argued that any changes must be based on a detailed analysis and, where appropriate, a referendum.

Kelemen Hunor cited Denmark as an example, where the voluntary merger of localities took place gradually over approximately 30 years. The UDMR leader said that the reform must be carried out in the interests of citizens, not political parties.

He also referred to the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which, he said, require consultation through a referendum and avoiding changes to the ethnic balance as a result of administrative reorganization.

The statement comes after PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu announced on Monday that he would propose to Prime Minister Luca Niculescu that the Government assume responsibility for administrative-territorial reform and the reorganization of the government apparatus. The PSD plan provides for the merger of small localities, the maintenance of public services, and the reduction or reorganization of certain agencies and state-owned companies.

רישט,

Context: The PSD quantified the reform’s impact and called for “assuming responsibility,” while the UDMR called for caution regarding local and ethnic criteria

Before Kelemen Hunor’s statement, PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu announced an administrative-territorial reform that could lead to the merging of small localities and the disappearance of more than 400 town halls, based on the fact that 429 localities in Romania have no more than 1,500 inhabitants. Among the most affected areas were counties such as Cluj (25 localities below the threshold), Alba (27), Caraș-Severin and Hunedoara (26 each).

The critical reactions focused on the decision-making process. Kelemen Hunor warned that the reorganization cannot be carried out “from an office,” giving the Apuseni Mountains as an example, where, for a commune to reach 4,000–5,000 inhabitants, it would be necessary to include localities located within a radius of 70–80 kilometers, and the mergers must not change the ethnic balance in Hungarian communities.