Ilie Bolojan, warning for the Niculescu Government: PNL will penalize budgetary deviations

PNL President Ilie Bolojan warned Sunday evening in Timișoara that the party would sanction any missteps by the Niculescu Government in running the country and meeting its pledged budget targets. Bolojan said the aim was to avoid budgetary destabilization and a potential economic crisis.

The liberal leader explained that PNL’s vote for the Government’s measures was not a vote of confidence or support, but a “vote of necessity,” given the risk that some essential public services might no longer be able to operate. He cited as an example the additional funding for healthcare approved in the budget rectification.

Bolojan criticized the ordinance capping local administrations’ spending, noting that, unlike last year, investments are also being limited. According to him, spending controls are necessary to maintain a predictable deficit and comply with Romania’s pledged budgetary trajectory, including in 2027.

The former prime minister argued that structural problems, such as the over-contracting of investments, stem from previous years. He pointed to contracts worth more than 19 billion lei signed in the transport sector, against an NRRP budget of 5.5 billion lei, and accused the PSD of failing to support the unified pay law.