European investments minister: EC not satisfied special pensions milestone is met

 The recent statement of the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM), according to which the special pensions milestone would have been met as early as 2023, is a serious instance of misinformation, considers the Minister of European Investments and Projects Dragos Pislaru."It is unacceptable for a state institution to mislead the public opinion and directly contradict the reality confirmed by the European Commission. From the Commission's perspective, the milestone regarding the pension system reform has not been met, which is why the related European funds - 231 million euros - have been suspended until the situation is clarified," the minister wrote on Facebook on Monday.According to him, the coordinator of the NRRP implementation at European level, Celine Gauer, assured him in a personal discussion that as soon as the Romanian government finalizes the pledged changes, the milestone will be considered fulfilled."Therefore, the CSM's statements are not only unfounded, but downright dangerous - they affect Romania's credibility in its relationship with the European Commission and fuel the false perception that the Romanian state does not respect its pledged commitments. This is not about a 'magistrate hunt', but about an unsustainable pension system, which needs to be reformed so that Romania can keep its promises to its own citizens and to its European partners," Pislaru noted.He also stressed that the Executive led by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan "works in an atmosphere of balance, responsibility and respect for the principle of separation of powers in the state, so that by the deadline of November 28 Romania can unblock the currently suspended 231 million euros.""The reform does not mean an attack on a professional category. It means fairness, equity and sustainability - the values any modern European state must defend," the minister added.The Supreme Council of Magistrates claimed on Friday, in a statement, that the recently adopted law on the magistrates' pensions has "no connection" whatsoever with the requirement formulated by the European Commission, after Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said that the regulatory act is intended to make good on a milestone in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan."Contrary to what the Romanian prime minister unrealistically stated, in the sense that 'settling the issue of the magistrates' pensions' would constitute a milestone linked to 'an amount of over 200 million euros' from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the CSM provides the following clarifications: Law No. 282/2023 substantially modified the magistrates' retirement regime (in terms of retirement conditions, pension calculation method, phasing etc.), with all these elements being taken into account by the European Commission to positively assess milestone 215 as having been met in its positive preliminary assessment of October 15, 2024," the institution explained.The Council also noted that the same Law No. 282/2023 modified the pension taxation regime, regardless of the professional category of the beneficiaries, and, subsequently, by Constitutional Court Ruling No. 724/2024, the provisions regarding the progressive taxation of pensions were declared unconstitutional."Consequently, the European Commission has found that, with regard to the taxation of pensions, milestone 215 is no longer met, stating that, following Ruling 724/2024 of the Constitutional Court of Romania of December 19, 2024, the Commission understands that the relevant provisions of Law 282/2023 introducing a higher taxation of pensions cannot be implemented by the government. Therefore, the other aspects concerning the retirement regime of magistrates (retirement conditions, pension calculation method, phasing etc.) have not been subject to any criticism from the Commission, thus remaining in place," the CSM indicated.Also, according to the CSM, the law recently adopted by the government "has nothing to do" with the requirement formulated by the European Commission in its letter of March 25.