Romanian Parliament passes SAFE, PNRR-related bills during extraordinary session

The two houses of the Romanian Parliament reunited on Wednesday, July 29, for an extraordinary plenary session and passed several projects related to the EU-funded Recovery and Resilience Plan, or PNRR, as well as the approval of the SAFE loan agreement.

The session comes amid heated disagreements between the centrist parties that formed the former governing coalition, namely the Social Democrats (PSD), the National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR), and the Hungarian minority party UDMR.

During the session on July 29, the Chamber of Deputies adopted the draft law establishing the legal framework through which the authorities may intervene in crises on the fuel market, through temporary measures intended to limit the impact on the economy and consumers. Among the provisions are the temporary reduction of the excise duty on diesel, the reduction of VAT on gasoline and diesel to 19% in certain market segments, the establishment of a solidarity contribution, and restrictions on diesel exports.

The bill, which also includes measures for economic operators and oil refiners, was adopted with 293 votes in favor and 2 abstentions. As the decision-making body, the Chamber sent the bill to president Nicusor Dan for promulgation.

Deputies also adopted the project introducing annual bonuses for ANAF and Customs employees, depending on performance. The project was adopted with 208 votes in favor, 20 against and 65 abstentions.

The project regarding the decarbonization of the heating and cooling sector, another PNRR milestone, was passed the same day, with 210 votes in favor, 67 against and 11 abstentions. The project, which will go to the Senate before being sent to the president, includes measures for the modernization of heating and cooling systems and increasing the use of energy from renewable sources, according to Mediafax.

The Territorial Planning, Urbanism and Construction Code passed with 236 votes, with four votes against and 51 abstentions. The project is a milestone in the PNRR. 

The Chamber of Deputies also passed a highly contested bill amending the laws regarding integrity and the functioning of the National Integrity Agency (or ANI), and a project allowing the filling of vacant and temporarily vacant positions in healthcare units, by exempting them from hiring restrictions. The law also amends the regime of sanctions for threats and assaults committed against medical, auxiliary and non-medical personnel in healthcare units.

The lower chamber also greenlit the granting of the teaching career bonus for teachers and auxiliary teaching staff, as well as the professional career bonus for administrative staff in state education, and extended the deadline for purchasing homes with 9% VAT until October 1. 

Importantly, the Chamber of Deputies adopted the legislative proposal regarding the approval of the SAFE loan agreement worth EUR 16.68 billion between Romania and the European Union. However, the Senate is the decision-making chamber in this case.

The latter bill triggered disagreements between representatives of the center-right camp, made up of PNL and USR, and far-right parliamentarians from the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) and smaller parties. While the former said that the agreement finances the Romanian defense sector, the latter criticized the lack of transparency, the cost of the loan and the procedure through which the document reached the vote.

PSD, in turn, supported the necessity of the program, but accused the government of using an incorrect legal procedure.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos|George Calin) ...