European economic policy criteria, respected by Romania

Romania meets all criteria of economic policies in Europe, President Traian Basescu said after the Spring European Council meeting in Brussels.

Basescu mentioned that among the conclusions of the meeting is provided the requirement to create short-term jobs, primarily for youth and noted in this context that Romania will allocate next year 140 million Euros so that individuals under 25 years to have a job.

On the other hand, Romania will no longer accept from January the 1st 2014 restrictions on labor - said President Traian Basescu at the Spring European Council.

A general conclusion is that the Spring European Council EU leaders have become aware and received the European citizens’ messages, who require for more time to stop the austerity measures and find other solutions for the final exit from the crisis and for economic recovery.

The yesterday and today discussions of the heads of state and government have shown this as intentions, measures which they take in the future.

Combating unemployment, exit strategy of the EU

Heads of State and Government agreed with the economic criteria established by the European Commission as priorities for 2013 and, in addition, there was a broad support for the continuation of the exit strategy of the EU in which the emphasis is on tackling the unemployment, especially within youth, and social consequences of the crisis and the measures that will lead to job creation.

European Council President, Herman van Rompuy, assured that European leaders are aware of the frustrations and sometimes even despair of Europeans affected by the economic crisis.

The way in which each government of each Member State shall specify these priorities and measures in its own reform program will be assessed by the heads of state and government at the European Council meeting in June.

The President stressed primarily as a novelty that at European level is wanted the fiscal consolidation, but not only fiscal consolidation, a fiscal consolidation favorable to economic growth.

The President underlined this as particularly important and explained how is made the fiscal consolidation by increasing taxation or reducing costs and he said that Romania has implemented the second solution, reducing the costs, and that was inspired in 2010 when has done such measure and that now is one of the EU Member States where unemployment is decreasing because, explained the president, thus the fiscal consolidation without economic growth leads to unemployment increasing.

Promoting economic growth and competitiveness

Another European measures proposed by the EC and supported by EU leaders is to restore a normal level for lending.

Basescu said that Romania's government has already made many domestic loans, since 2012 it went out on the foreign market and that is a fair policy applied and continued in 2012 and also this year, in 2013.

Another measure is to promote economic growth and competitiveness.

This is a measure at EU level and for Romania, the key is, said President Traian Basescu, to respect the agreement with the EU, IMF and World Bank.

Another measure, another economic criterion, is approaching the unemployment and the social consequences of the crisis and that President Traian Basescu said that from Romania’s point of view that unless we increase taxes and it will increase, will increase also the absorption of European funds and regarding this, Romania should not have problems, so it should not have problems of unemployment.

Also, another criterion is to modernize the public administration and the president gave examples of measures already taken by Romania, reducing the operating costs of the state in general, process that, said the president, is continued by the current government.
Regarding the unemployment, especially within youth, the president said that Romania has that benefit of 140 billion euro.

"In 2010, we did what was necessary to stabilize our economy. Now we need to continue the process of consolidating the macroeconomic stability, but if in 2010 we did what we could, whatever faith forced us to do and we chose with all regret and all political impact the right solution for rapid recovery in 2011, 2012, 2013, we must do what we can to ensure the economic growth and macroeconomic consolidation and what we can in this moment or what we should be able to do when foreign direct investment still does not appear, there is still caution. We should use European money. They are a great source for us, "said President Traian Basescu at EU Spring Council in Brussels.


Translated by Alexandra-Diana Mircea
MTTLC, Bucharest University