Prime Minister-designate Eugen Tomac said on Tuesday that the government he will submit to Parliament for approval is not his government, but Romania's government and that it will act in Romania's interests.

'I believe we need to be rational and understand one basic fact: at this moment, we need a government invested with full powers in order to unblock the activity of the Romanian state, because this deadlock is causing considerable harm to Romania. I have seen the parties' demands and I have tried to work within that framework precisely in order to find a reasonable compromise, because a government outside these parties, without party members, clearly cannot be effective unless it enjoys the necessary support in Parliament to achieve the objectives that the pro-Western parliamentary parties have committed themselves to. I am fully aware of this reality and that is the direction of the discussions I had yesterday and will continue today, namely the need to be somewhat more flexible and not be more Catholic than the Pope, because this is not Tomac's government, it is Romania's government and it will act in Romania's interests,' Eugen Tomac said after talks with the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR), in response to criticism, particularly from the National Liberal Party (PNL), that some of the proposed ministers on his list appeared to be closer to the Social Democratic Party (PSD).

Tomac stressed that a technocratic government would remain in office only as long as it retained Parliament's support.

'A government made up of individuals from outside the parliamentary political parties will survive only as long as Parliament wishes it to. We must take this reality into account and I am firmly grounded in it. The President of Romania proposed this solution precisely because the parties failed to come forward with an alternative. Our role will be to manage public affairs without introducing measures that have nothing in common with Romania's priorities. At present, those priorities are very clear and tied to specific deadlines. We have deadlines related to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and the fulfilment of milestones by 31 August this year, otherwise we stand to lose billions of euros. The final payment request can be submitted by the end of September. The first drawdown under SAFE will take place at the beginning of October. Someone in this country must assume responsibility for these important matters because otherwise, in the absence of a vote, we should not be surprised if the country becomes increasingly divided and others take advantage of the situation. We have not taken on the role of presenting political parties with miraculous solutions or better ideas than those they have already had. We are simply coming forward with good faith, responsibility, determination and, of course, the desire to break this deadlock,' Tomac explained.

The prime minister-designate said he remained optimistic that negotiations to secure support for his proposed government would be concluded successfully.

'I am optimistic. I am convinced we will find a solution to overcome this situation because it is also in the parties' interests to have a government approved as quickly as possible. I remain optimistic,' Eugen Tomac said.

Asked about upcoming discussions with MPs formerly affiliated with S.O.S. Romania, the Alliance for Romanians' Union (AUR) and Young People's Party (POT), he replied: 'As long as there are politicians willing to support the objectives I have set out, it is my duty to listen to them because in politics people sometimes change their positions. Therefore, if these individuals have left anti-Western parties and are willing to engage in discussion, I am prepared to listen. I do not know what will happen. I accepted and in fact proposed this meeting because they told me they had a number of proposals for the governing programme. Whether they will vote for it or not, I do not know. I expect to find out later today.' AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Florea; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)