National Press Review, May 4

Under the headline: “Why has the letter of intention addressing the new government been drafted by the IMF?”, România Liberă presents the topics which will be discussed at today’s meeting between IMF representatives and the new government team, which may be instated at the beginning of next week. The newspaper claims that the letter draft will not be made by a government team, like it usually is, but by the IMF, and reveals the source of this information, as well as reactions to this matter. The agenda of debates starting today also includes the issue of obtaining the financial budgetary resources necessary for supplementing salaries in the public sector and giving the social security contributions (CAS) back to pensioners, which have been deducted based on no legal grounds.

“Salaries may increase if the IMF wants it so” – Adevărul comments, adding: the Prime Minister-designate Victor Ponta has declared that he is optimist concerning the results of negotiations with international financial institutions on increasing the salaries which have been drastically reduced in 2012, and returning the extra money received from pensioners.

These two objectives are mentioned in the government programme submitted yesterday evening at the Parliament. The topic is also approached by Evenimentul Zilei, which analyses eight promises made by Victor Ponta to the electorate, including – progressive profit income tax, cutting back the social security contribution, increasing the fees for big fortunes and chasing away the “smart guys”. The author of the article estimates that, out of all these, only the objective of increasing wages may be achieved, and lists the necessary measures and costs for each of the Social Liberal Union’s targets.

“The orange governments have emptied the money bag” - Jurnalul Naţional headlines, referring to Victor Ponta’s statement, according to which neither Prime Ministers Boc nor Ungureanu have obtained money to increase public employees’ wages or to pay back the social security contributions deducted illegally from pensioners. The daily publication offers details on the Prime Minister-designate’s statements given yesterday, which are addressed to the former members of the government, and presents his reply to the accusations of the interim Ministry of Finance, who claims that the increase in public employees’ wages was about to be decided by the Ungureanu cabinet after the IMF mission would be concluded, because it did not exceed the wage bill of 42 billion lei approved by the budgetary and fiscal strategy, and that the amendment would have been implemented in July.

Translated by: Cristina Baciu, MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University.