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Romania To Cut All Pensions By 15%, Social Pensions Included – Tourism Min

All Romanian pensions will take a 15% cut, although exemptions for social pensions worth 350 lei (EUR1=RON4.1838) did come up during talks with Romania’s President Traian Basescu, the Minister of Regional Development and Tourism Elena Udrea told MEDIAFAX Tuesday.
Romania To Cut All Pensions By 15%, Social Pensions Included – Tourism Min
25 mai 2010, 20:02, English

Udrea said that the talks did touch upon the subject of exempting certain pension categories from the 15% pension cut, but it was eventually decided that the measure would apply to all retirees.

The Minister said social pensions worth RON350 were introduced last year by Romania’s ruling democrat liberals, and granted to seniors whose income previously ranged from RON6 to zero. However, most beneficiaries live in rural areas and they will be able to support themselves through their individual farms, said Udrea.

The leader of Romania’s Hungarian minority party Marko Bela said Tuesday that his party supported cutback exemptions for small pensions during talks with Basescu, even though the letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund could no longer be amended.

Romania’s Forest and Environment Minister, Hungarian minority party member Laszlo Borbely said that his party had asked fellow ruling coalition members, the democrat liberals, to maintain a minimum pension of RON350 and, instead, to apply a 16% cutback to pensions worth over RON600.

Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu said Tuesday, following talks with the country’s President, that a differentiated pension cut rate cannot be applied, as it would involve altering the pension point.

Romania’s head of state met Tuesday with liberal democrat lawmakers, several Cabinet members and Prime Minister Emil Boc.