President Nicuşor Dan of Romania convened informal consultations with representatives from various political parties and formations within the Romanian Parliament to address the country’s current economic and political landscape. The meetings took place at the Cotroceni Palace on Wednesday.

The Presidential Governance stated on Tuesday that the consultations were initiated “under the provisions of Art. 80 paragraph (2) of the Constitution of Romania.”

The first meeting was held with the Social Democratic Party (PSD) delegation. Though, representatives from the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (gold) and SOS Romania party did not attend.

Later in the day, discussions resumed after a two-hour break, with the absence of the gold and SOS Romania parties noted.

Kelemen Hunor, following consultations, emphasized the necessity to “rediscovered with the PNR Commission, in the sense of moving amounts where there are mature projects and where the investments can be realized until the end of the PNR’s application” to maintain financing offered by the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan).

Dominic Fritz stated that the government’s priority should be reducing state spending rather than increasing taxation. “The truth is that now the Romanian state spends a lot more money than they allow and caught and those who lend us with money because they do not trust that we will be able to give these debts back. Therefore, once again, the first step must be to cut everything we do not allow and this will be a harsh negotiation because they will not be like that,” said Fritz.

“It was an informal meeting (…) PSD did not change its position,” said the party’s interim leader.

Ilie Bolojan, after the consultations between President Nicuşor dan and the PNL (National Liberal Party), affirmed the Liberals’ willingness to participate in the government. He stressed the importance of ensuring continued financing of the deficit to maintain Romania’s reliability for investors and creditors. Bolojan also highlighted the urgency of absorbing European funds.

Sorin Grindeanu, the interim president of the PSD, described the meeting as informal, stating, “It was an informal meeting (…) PSD did not change its position.” He added that the PSD delegation addressed several economic problems and sought solutions with Nicuşor Dan.

The PSD delegation included Sorin Grindeanu, Mihai Tudose, Marian Neacşu, Victor Negrescu, Lia Olguţa Vasilescu, and Paul Stănescu.

The schedule for the consultations was as follows:

• 09:00: The Social Democratic Party (PSD)
• 10:30: The National Liberal Party (PNL)
• 12:00: Union Save Romania (USR)
• 13:30: Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR)
• 15:00: The parliamentary group of national minorities
• 16:00: Alliance for the Union of Romanians (gold) – Did not attend
• 17:00: SOS Romania party – Did not attend
• 18:00: The party of young people (can)
• 19:00: Non -affiliated parliamentarians