Prime Minister-designate Luca Niculescu told a joint sitting of Parliament on Tuesday that Romania no longer had time to lose and this is why he is proposing a Government that would bring money and investment into the country, create jobs and protect Romanians.

'I am standing before you today at a time when Romania no longer has time to lose. Today, we can put an end to a period of more than five months of an interim government and political deadlock, more than five months during which the world has changed rapidly while important discussions in Bucharest have stood still. Romanians have felt this in their bills, in halted construction sites, in job insecurity and, above all, in their lives. The significance of today's vote, however, goes beyond the formation of a Cabinet. The real stake is whether Romania remains trapped in electoral calculations, divisions and red lines or whether it has the strength to bring this unfortunate chapter in our political life to a close, restart its economy and act coherently at a time of economic, social and geopolitical vulnerability,' Luca Niculescu said.

He added that he had accepted the mandate as an independent prime minister precisely because Romania could no longer afford a prolonged crisis and needed a point of balance.

'Romania needs a Government that can immediately manage the difficulties of the present while also setting in motion the changes the country needs for its future. This Government must restore citizens' trust in the state institutions through results, rebuild international partners' confidence in Romania's ability to act coherently and responsibly and set out the country's development priorities for the next years. Our responsibility is not merely to get Romania out of a political crisis. It is to ensure that, in trying to solve the problems of the present, we do not lose the opportunity to build its future,' Niculescu said.

Luca Niculescu underscored that he comes with a governing programme, a team and a commitment to work towards several clear objectives.

'And I want to tell Romanians from the outset what kind of Government this will be. A Government that brings money and investments into the country. A Government that creates jobs. A Government that will help strengthen Europe and protect Romanians. To achieve this, we first need a proper understanding of the situation we are in. Romania is not merely going through a budgetary difficulty. It is going through a crisis of its development model,' Niculescu added. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Florea; EN - writing by: Rodica State)