From the discussions of the leaders of the pro-Western parties, no public conclusion emerged at this moment, apart from the commitment that they will keep Romania on the European and Euro-Atlantic trajectory.
♦ The parties in the pro-Western coalition – PSD, PNL, USR, UDMR and the minorities – are negotiating for the formation of the new government ♦ With a majority of over 60% in the parliament, the new government would pass without emotions, but the most important question is how soon, for that the gang at the Victory Palace has work to do: the organization of the presidential elections, the administration of the budget, the absorption of European funds and the implementation of the budget plan for the gradual reduction of the budget deficit, everything in a 2025 that promises to be complicated. The government in Bucharest must be credible in front of the financiers, because next year, according to all calculations, it needs more than 200 billion. lei (40 billion euros) for financing the deficit and rolling over the old debt. For loans, it also needs good interest rates, because payments related to public debt have reached 2% of GDP only in the first 10 months of 2024 and are beginning to weigh more and more heavily on the state budget. However, external confidence is the first factor for the price of money, which feeds the budget of about 150 billion. euro of Romania, as it will be in 2025. Thus, the government that will be appointed will begin to outline the state budget, which should provide, according to commitments to the European Commission, a reduction of the budget deficit by 1% of GDP, together with the continuation of investments from PNRR and other European funds. For the formation of the government, Parliament is needed in the first place. The President of Romania, still in office, Klaus Iohannis, convened the Romanian parliament on December 20, this being the first meeting of the new legislature, after the elections of December 1. The zero priority of the new Parliament is the formation of a government, which will organize the new presidential elections and outline Romania's budget in 2025. Time is short and it is not clear if the new government will be in office by the end of the year, even less if Romania will enter 2025 with an approved public budget. On Thursday, there will be another round of negotiations between the parties that would form the new government, ie PSD, PNL, USR, UDMR and the minority parliamentarians. Together, they have almost 65% of the votes in the assembled plenary session of the Parliament, so the formed government would pass the vote of confidence without emotions. At this moment there is no official calendar regarding the formation of the government, but after the first session of the Parliament, President Klaus Iohannis will call the parties to consultations and, subsequently, appoint a prime minister. Therefore, President Iohannis will appoint the Prime Minister, after announcing that he will stay in Cotroceni until the new President takes office. The mandate of Klaus Iohannis ends on December 21, but at this moment neither the candidates for the presidency nor when the elections will be held are known. From the discussions of the leaders of the pro-Western parties, no public conclusion emerged at this moment, apart from the commitment that they will keep Romania on the European and Euro-Atlantic trajectory. There is also discussion about the merger of some ministries or the reduction of the budget apparatus. More than 1.3 million people work in the public sector. of employees and the reality is that few governments have not talked about eliminating unnecessary positions, but, in practice, their number and budget expenditures have increased. The coalition still needs to put in place measures for the gradual reduction of the budget deficit as a share of GDP. With an economic growth of 2-3%, even if it is small compared to the economic boom of 2017-2019, part of the problems of income growth would be solved. Premises are, if the absorption of funds from PNRR accelerates and infrastructure construction continues at the pace of 2024, along with investments in new energy production capacities.
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