President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday that Romania's 2019 national budget has been hastily put together based on unrealistic economic projections, warning that the budget is not of the leadership of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), main at rule, but Romania's.

"President Klaus Iohannis points out that this budget is not the budget of the PSD leadership, but of Romania, of our stability and prosperity in the coming years," reads a press statement released by the Presidential Administration.

Iohannis added that the draft budget with Parliament now is based on "political crony appropriations."

"This budget, which should have been drawn up mid-November last year, was only debated on January 31, 2019, after the PSD and ALDE [Alliance of Liberal and Democrats] leaders came back from vacation. It's a hastily conceived budget built on unrealistic economic projections and on political crony appropriations, which PSD has the audacity to fast track through sham debates in Parliament," added Iohannis.

He points out that the essential responsibility of the government and Parliament is to identify sustainable financial solutions for each area, criticising the fact that "PSD resorts to new populist approaches that risk making Romania vulnerable amidst the ongoing geopolitical context marked by uncertainty as well as heightening risks and threats against NATO countries."

Iohannis calls on Parliament to revert to the initial appropriations for the intelligence services.

"By a cynical gesture, the PSD chairman opposes national security to the health of the citizens. Only a petty and irresponsible politician could instill the idea that the Romanians' health cannot be secured because of the too high appropriations for security services, whose fundamental legal mission is precisely to ensure national security, protect the lives of people and the country's interests. The proposal to cut the appropriations for the national security bodies is all the more irresponsible since there are no arguments or justifications to back it up. Precisely such cuts are a stab at the safety of the citizens by a discretionary reduction of the appropriations for the security bodies, in a desperate attempt by toxic characters to amass political capital. Therefore, the President of Romania is urging Parliament to return to the initial appropriations proposed by the Government on December 10, 2018 as endorsed by the Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT) on December 19, 2018," he said.

Iohannis also warns that the PSD-ALDE coalition's budget delay of almost two months is "completely unwarranted and demonstrates once again the lack of seriousness and professionalism of the current coalition, as well as its lack of their concern with the smooth running of the economy and administration in Romania."

At the same time, Iohannis criticises public appropriations for the parliamentary parties.

He also shows that the public healthcare funding is not enough and the PSD national chairman should add to the funding from the appropriations for the political parties.

The burden of governmental responsibility, according to the head of state, is transferred to the local public administration.

He urges all responsible politicians to look at the 2019 budget of not as an "instrument of party promises but as an essential means for Romania's economic stability, for the welfare and security of the Romanians." AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Florin Marin; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)