President Nicusor Dan said on Wednesday that the parties of the former governing coalition did not reach a political and social agreement on the new public-sector pay law and have jointly accepted the loss of the €770 million linked to this NRRP milestone.

Nicusor Dan said the Presidential Administration has mediated talks between PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR since May. 'Despite intense negotiations in recent months, the four parties did not reach a political and social consensus. This essential reform for the entire public-sector system should not have been postponed for years, starting in 2022. We have ended up debating a highly complex issue with major social and economic implications under enormous time pressure,' he stated.

Dan noted the parties' willingness to engage and praised the 'intense work' of ministerial teams. He also underlined that the parties respected their commitment not to submit separate bills to Parliament, thereby 'jointly assuming, under the political agreement, the loss of the €770 million for this PNRR milestone.'

Most importantly, he said, the parties agreed on the need to adopt the law by the end of the year and to respect the salary envelope negotiated with the European Commission. That envelope, he warned, will not be able to meet all union demands, but months of work and discussions 'have clarified many technical aspects.' The law is 'technically almost finalised,' he added.

The political decision of the parties will determine how the salary envelope is distributed across professional categories - and therefore the income levels for each group in the public system, Dan said. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Ghita; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)