Romanian Ruling Coalition, Opp Parties Argue On ’09 Budget

Thus, the members of Parliament with the Social Democratic Party PSD and Liberal Democratic Party PDL said that 2009’s budget draft is realistic, while those with the National Liberal Party PNL and Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania UDMR said it is an unrealistic and populist budget.

Thus, liberal deputy Eugen Nicolaescu said the budget does not mirror the governing program of the PSD-PDL ruling coalition, which was supposed to be  an “anti-crisis” budget, as it envisages higher taxes and duties while overestimating tax revenues.

PDL deputy Petru Calian showed the budget draft is realistic, not populist, leading to investment-based real economic development, and meets the conditions of the financial crisis.

UDMR deputy Petru Lakatos said in turn a 2.5% economic growth stipulated in the budget is “a sweet dream.”

The vice-president of the budget-finance commission with the Chamber of Deputies, PNL deputy Daniel Chitoiu, criticized both the budget draft as being "tendentious, demagogical and unrealistic," and the finance minister Gheorghe Pogea for having overestimated the country’s 2009 gross domestic product.

Romanian senators and deputies with the Parliament’s budget reunited Commissions started debates Friday on the budget draft for 2009.

The Romanian Government submitted the 2009 state budget draft in Parliament a week ago, with the written request to have it debated with priority.