Romanian PM Says Govt Lost A Battle, Not The War

The government has already planned to hold its weekly meeting Wednesday, but emergency ordinances were removed from its agenda, as the government can now only adopt draft laws and government decisions, people close to the matter told MEDIAFAX.

„Life goes on and we’ll continue our activity until a new government is sworn in. It is an honor for a government to be overthrown for its attempt to pass a pension bill that cuts privileges. Special pensions remain, but not for long because the wave of reform has started to rise,” Boc said after the no-confidence vote in Parliament.

Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc’s minority government lost a confidence vote in Parliament Tuesday, as lawmakers voted 254 to 176 to overthrow the Cabinet.

Boc was planning to seek a confidence vote in Parliament to enact a pension law that increases retirement age and eliminates special pensions that aren’t tied to people’s contributions, such as those of lawmakers, magistrates, military, law enforcement and intelligence services staff. The bill sets that all special pensions will be recalculated depending on people’s contributions, which means they will be reduced.