European Commissioner Nicolas Schmit discusses with Romanian officials the situation created by the conflict in Ukraine, social reforms and investment in the NRRP.
The European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, has paid a visit to Bucharest, where he discussed with Romanian officials the measures that Bucharest should take to combat poverty, but also the impact of the war in Ukraine on the European economy.
Nicolas Schmit said, that, first of all we need to make sure that this war does not lead to a new economic crisis in Europe, which is a very important issue. Of course, there are several elements that are uncertain, such as the price of energy, which can influence many sectors. Fortunately, Romania is in the situation in which it’s almost autonomous, and its energy situation is very good, the Commissioner said.
Together with Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, the Commissioner mainly analysed the EU’s response to the crisis trigger by the Russian military aggression. The Romanian PM presented Romania’s strategy for ensuring energy independence through the use of nuclear energy, developing the capacity to produce renewable energy and exploiting new offshore natural gas reserves.
Romania had a massive inflow of Ukrainian refugees on its hands and has handled the situation remarkably well, the European Commissioner told a news conference in Bucharest on Thursday.
Nicolas Schmit also expressed the European Commission’s support for a rapid access to the funds already available to Member States and gave assurances that they would be supplemented with new resources.
Brussels wants to support the Romanian government in its efforts to help young people find a job, the commissioner said after a meeting with Labor Minister Marius Budai. He said this could be done by implementing a community initiative called the „Youth Guarantee” and accessing the existing funds.According to the European Commissioner, the implementation of the „Child Guarantee” is also important because poverty is still a serious issue in Romania, especially among children. Children need better opportunities, better care, better education and nutrition, the Commissioner said, also stressing the issue of poverty among the elderly.
In turn, the Romanian minister Marius Budai said that the 9.4% of the GDP cap that limits spending on pensions, as provided in the NRRP, should be made more flexible, because sticking to this cap might lead to impoverishing the population.
Marius Budai: „I agree and support, as I told the Commissioner, any reform that would benefit the Romanian state and that would be in line with everything stipulated by the provisions of the European Union treaties. We are also deeply attached to this European project, but I will never sign a reform that will maintain or lead to the impoverishment of Romanian citizens „.
Recently, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management have also travelled to Bucharest to support Romania against the background of the crisis it is faced with at the border with Ukraine.
(Daniela Budu, Radio Romania International)
