Minister Pislaru: Romania undertakes reform of magistrates' pensions through PNRR;blocking process costs us 231 million euros

Romania has undertaken the reform of magistrates' pensions through the commitments in the PNRR, and the blocking of this process by magistrates is costing us 231 million euros, said on Tuesday the Minister of Investments and European Projects, Dragos Pîslaru."Oana Gheorghiu declared something that is absolutely obvious to everyone: Romania can no longer afford to pay special pensions. No matter how hard this may be for magistrates to accept, we must reorganize the public pension system so that it becomes fair for everyone. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and all colleagues in the Government have absolute reverence for magistrates and for the extremely difficult work they do every day. But we also have equal respect for doctors and nurses, teachers and educators, firefighters and police officers," the minister wrote on his Facebook page.He emphasized that all these professional categories carry out activities essential for the functioning of the state, just like many other categories.In this context, the minister emphasizes that Romania cannot afford a pension system that is generous only for some and very expensive for the many and declares solidarity with Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu, who was charged with criminal charges by the Supreme Council of Magistracy for incitement to hatred and discrimination."I want to be as clear as possible: if saying what is right and fair for every Romanian is interpreted by some magistrates as incitement to hatred, then I wish to self-denounce myself. I stand in solidarity with Oana Gheorghiu and publicly thank her for the courage to say firmly the things that most opportunistic politicians in Romania do not dare even to whisper. And in this way I want to remind you: through the commitments in the PNRR, Romania has assumed the reform of magistrates' pensions. The blocking of this process by magistrates is costing us 231 million euros," the Minister of Investments and European Projects emphasized.The Superior Council of Magistracy issued a press release on Monday claiming that, through her statements, Oana Gheorghiu violated the independence of the judiciary and the statute of magistrates in an "irresponsible" and "populist" manner.Asked on Saturday, in a program on Digi 24, how she would solve the problem of special pensions for magistrates, Oana Gheorghiu replied: "I would send a message to the magistrates - I would tell them that I understand them. It is very difficult to give up something that was given to you. (...) It is very difficult to benefit from it for years, decades, and suddenly be told that you no longer have it. It would be difficult for anyone to do this. But I think this was a kind of Caritas. They were caught in a Caritas that could not last forever and people who are pragmatic and rational should understand this. Romania cannot afford to pay this money anymore, it cannot afford to have special pensioners anymore. We have no way, and if that money has to go to them because "I give sentences, I get them from somewhere, and I can take them from the mouth of a child who goes to bed hungry, from the budget of a hospital that has no medicine."