The Romanian village must be preserved, saved and developed, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Tuesday, stressing that it will not be repopulated unless there is administrative coherence in terms of public services.

Marcel Ciolacu, who participated in the ordinary session of the General Assembly of the Association of Municipalities in Romania, highlighted that this desired goal can only be achieved through a partnership between the central and local administration.

According to the prime minister, reforms in the administration and mergers of localities must be "weighed very carefully". He specified that he agreed with the president of the Association of Municipalities in Romania, Emil Draghici, that the organization should present, in the next period, at least ten problems, which will be distributed to the members of the Government. Afterwards, meetings will be organized, during which decisions will be made.

"We need dialogue, we need to put them on paper together, to speak with courage about reforms. Reforms do not mean that we abolish UATs," Marcel Ciolacu said.

He pointed out that some geographical areas of our country have developed a lot, because investments were made in the large infrastructure.

"I think that the chance that Romania has at this moment will not be available in five years. It is Romania's last development train, based on the current financial exercise and the money from Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR)," the premier added.

In his opinion, the reckoning has come for everything that has been built "irresponsibly", "chaotically" in 30 years. "It's time for us all to sit down at the table. I think that Romania has managed to overcome its most difficult years and have macroeconomic balance," explained Marcel Ciolacu.

"The main piece of news that will come out of this room, today, all over the media, will be that the mayors want higher salaries. This is the Romania we live in. (...) You are right, but, after this news, the perception of Romanians will be that Romania is heading in the wrong direction. Let's decide what we want! (...) Let's come in front of the Romanians with a plan and then you will see how the perception of Romania's wrong direction will change a lot. (...) I will lead with this coalition, with all the members of the Romanian Government, whether they are from Social Democratic Party (PSD) or the National Liberal Party (PNL), we will carry this destiny to bring Romania in the right direction," the prime minister concluded.AGERPRES(RO - author: Iulia Carciog, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Catalin Cristian Trandafir, editor: Simona Iacob)