Ilie Bolojan, clarifications about the SRI – Digi contract: "The government had no discussions on this topic. I only learned from the press regarding who signed this contract. That is the reality."

Ilie Bolojan, the interim prime minister, provided clarifications regarding the controversial contract between SRI and the Digi company, emphasizing that its conclusion is not related to the Government of Romania. Bolojan explained that each authority benefiting from funds through the SAFE program negotiated the acquisition independently, including SRI.

He mentioned that, although some authorities conducted tenders, SRI followed a specific negotiation procedure. The prime minister insisted on the importance of transparency in such contracts, considering their sensitive nature. SRI confirmed that the selection of suppliers was carried out according to a unified procedure, and the decision to contract complied with applicable legislation.

"After each negotiated the contract, in the end, they came with the respective amount, with the contractor, and the working group at the Government level, which integrates all these procedures, gave a final approval, which meant that it was verified whether the destination of the allocated amount was respected and the amount in question. But this working group had no interference in these negotiations that were conducted directly, and neither did the Government have any discussions on this topic, nor did I personally, and simply found out from the press regarding who signed this contract. That is the reality. In the case of such acquisitions, to eliminate any kind of suspicion, the more transparent you are, the clearer you present things, the more you limit misinformation and clarify matters. And I think it is normal for each institution that has made such contracts to publish everything that can be published, respecting, of course, legal provisions. I see no problem on this topic," said Ilie Bolojan on Thursday, at Euronews Romania.