Romania’s ruling coalition will make a final decision on the magistrates’ pensions law after president Nicusor Dan meets magistrates on November 18 and will most likely promote the law on public administration employment in Parliament next week, according to media reports from prime minister Ilie Bolojan and other sources familiar with the negotiations. The coalition held a meeting late on November 17, and the government will hold a meeting the following day.
The public administration employment law will be promoted in Parliament most likely next week under accelerated procedure (responsibility assumption), PM Bolojan announced, speaking at the General Assembly of the Association of Municipalities in Romania, according to Economedia.ro.
A general agreement among the ruling coalition’s members was reached previously, and development minister Cseke Attila was supposed to come up with the draft this week.
Under the agreement, some 10% of the local administration (or 13,000) would be made redundant as of January 2026 – but there is an option for deferring this for one year if the payroll is reduced by 10% instead. Significant implementation risks exist, enhanced by this suspensive clause. The wage freezing regime in the budgetary sector expires at the end of 2026, and the Social Democrats (PSD) will take over the prime ministership in April 2027, with the general elections scheduled at the end of 2028 providing incentives to populist policies.
The ruling coalition will decide on the magistrates’ pensions law on November 19 after president Nicusor Dan meets the magistrates’ representatives, Capital.ro reported after the coalition’s meeting held on November 18. Capital.ro, citing sources familiar with the negotiations, indicated that three combinations of pension size and implementation period (for the retirement age) are on the coalition’s agenda.
The coalition may agree with pensions as large as 75% of the pre-retirement net wage (compared to 70% initially proposed and 100% required by magistrates), while the implementation of the 65-year retirement age (from around 50 years currently) may be deferred by up to 15 years (compared to 10 years initially proposed by the government).
The government will re-launch the law in Parliament, most likely under the responsibility assumption procedure, given the time constraints, as soon as possible. The Constitutional Court rejected the law on procedural grounds.
The law on fiscal measures, part of the second package of budgetary measures, which PM Bolojan wants legislated before drafting the 2026 budget planning, will be adjusted and promoted in Parliament this week. The Constitutional Court spotted minor issues that can be quickly addressed.
The other three laws, part of the second package of budgetary measures, have already been fully legislated: the law on streamlining the market regulator bodies (ASF, ANRE, ANCOM), the law on state-owned companies’ boards and top management, and the law streamlining the public healthcare system.
iulian@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Inquam Phots/Octav Ganea)
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