Asked if he thinks there is an austerity scenario in Romania, during a press conference on Tuesday, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis replied that he does not believe in this option. “I don’t think so, and we don’t have a plan to enter into an austerity process,” the president said. “I do not intend to accept a new experiment of this type with Romania”, the head of state pointed out.
“I don’t think so, and we don’t have a plan to enter into an austerity process, for very simple reasons. We have had the economic crisis of 2009, 2010, 2011, where Europe tried, or tried at European level to fight the crisis through austerity measures. The result was not a good one, and I do not intend to accept a new experiment of this type with Romania. The plan we have is the plan that has been repeatedly presented by the Romanian Government, because the economic problems, as we all know, are dealt with by the Romanian Government. It is a plan that has worked very well so far, the Government on the one hand allocates enough money for investments, and we are very lucky that we also have substantial European funds on both ordinary European funds and PNRR. On the other hand, the Government has managed to come up with successive support packages to help the vulnerable population overcome the shock of rising prices more easily, especially on energy, but also on inflation. These will continue. We will continue to have significant investments in infrastructure and the economy. At the same time, however, we will have support packages where needed,” Iohannis said.
He underlined that the situation is complex.
“The energy crisis is not over, we are talking about a food crisis, which may not directly affect us, but if global prices rise, the result will be the same for us. It is important to prepare for these times that will continue to be complicated. I have said this before, I would have liked very much to have only positive news, as I had on foreign and security policy, but these crises were not generated by us, but by others, in this case Russia, which attacked Ukraine and caused the energy crisis and all other crises. We must be patient and, at the same time, the Government must take the wisest measures, support the vulnerable population in all respects, and at the same time come to the aid of the economy. This is the plan and with it we will get through these difficult times,” he argued.
Iohannis admits there were colleagues” from Cotroceni who collaborated on security draft law
President Klaus Iohannis also referred to the controversial drafts of the new national security laws, claiming they were made by “specialists in the field”, while admitting that they were “colleagues” from Cotroceni who collaborated with “other specialists on some of these drafts”.
However, the head of state claimed that he did not see the documents and that “the draft is with the Government”, not with him. “It is not the president who makes laws. I did not elaborate them. Whoever worked on them will say. (…) This draft is in the government, as we all know. The laws reach me in the CSAT and in the legislative procedure”, said the president.
Asked about the press release issued by the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE), according to which “The service was consulted by the Department of National Security of the Presidential Administration”, Iohannis admitted that they were “colleagues” who collaborated “with other specialists”. “There were colleagues from the Security Department who collaborated with other specialists on some of these drafts. I didn’t read them, I didn’t censor them. I will make sure that these excesses disappear. The president takes care of these issues,” said the president.
The President also claimed that he maintains his statement that he knows who leaked the projects to the press, but said that he did not threaten anyone, as 45 NGOs have accused.
Asked by a journalist if he dared to identify the sources of mass media and threaten, the head of state replied: “I think you expect the president to know a little more than the public. I did not identify either the source or the publication. I did not refer to people or publications. I said it was wrong for the world to be agitated at this stage. I’m sorry that you felt threatened like I don’t think anyone from those who worked on these drafts felt threatened. I keep the statement. Not every draft needs to be made public. So far, these laws have not begun their legislative process. The fact that there have been countless discussions about something that is not defined, proved me right. You don’t have to feel threatened.”
Earlier in June, President Iohannis had said on that it was a major mistake that “someone, and we know who” considered it appropriate to reveal “off the record” about the national security bills. Iohannis insisted back then that there is no cause for concern, because no one wants a restoration of the old Securitate or a restriction of citizens’ rights, and the projects will change when they enter public debate.