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Parliamentarians' special pensions have been repealed
Parliament adopted in plenary session, on Wednesday, the repeal of the senators' and deputies' special pensions. There were 357 votes in favor. A number of 30 parliamentarians did not cast their vote.
Chamber of Deputies Speaker Ludovic Orban says that the bill that repeals the special pensions for lawmakers and which cleared Parliament today is "perfectly constitutional."
"From my point of view, this bill adopted today by the joint Chambers is perfectly constitutional and is an act of justice done by the current MPs to the Romanian citizens. The current lawmakers, all those who voted, have shown that they are not above the law, that they respect the principle of equal rights and don't want to use their MP position to enjoy rights other citizens don't enjoy. I repeat this, it's constitutional. Just as a majority has decided to introduce this right in the Law on the lawmakers' statutes, Parliament has the right to stop the grant of this right to any former or incumbent lawmaker," Orban said.
"We will look at the legislation in each field of activity. (...) We'll have to take into account all the rulings of the Constitutional Court handed down during the various notification (...) or constitutional challenge procedures," said the Chairman of the National Liberal Party, adding that overtaxing these pensions is not a solution.
The Parliament plenum adopted on Wednesday the repeal of the special pensions of the senators and deputies.
Liberal deputy Florin Roman warned that the bill raises major constitutional issues, and Social Democrat floor leader Alfred Simonis said that the potentially unconstitutional amendments to the bill were tabled by the Save Romania Union - Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party and the National Liberal Party.
The lawmakers of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) did not attend today's vote on the repeal of the special pensions of senators and deputies, arguing that the ruling parties should have agreed to abolish all special pensions, not just 1.38 percent of the total, UDMR Senate floor leader Lorand Turos said on Wednesday in the Parliament plenum.
"UDMR's position on the special pensions is firm and consistent. All citizens of this country must receive a pension, according to age and contribution. The principle of contribution must be the basic principle of the pension system, without exceptions. Today's proposal aims to eliminate (...) the benefits of former lawmakers who have reached the age limit. We are talking about 825 MPs and a budgetary effort of approximately 4.5 million lei per year," said the UDMR senator at the debate on the bill on the abolition of special pensions for parliamentarians.
Turos stressed that the special pensions for another 11 social and professional categories remain in force.
"Special pensions remain in force, unrelated to contributions to the benefits system, for staff of the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, the intelligence services, the Penitentiary Administration and so on. The special pensions of judges and prosecutors, at roughly 20,000 lei per month on average, remain in force, and those who retire at the age of 40-50 can opt for a special pension and then get re-employed in the public system. This way, many collect nice money from the state budget through pensions and salaries, and you are just about to deceive your voters by abolishing the lowest special pension, yet without solving the big problems of the system. The old-age pensions of the former deputies and senators represent 1.38 percent of the total special pensions. The rest of 99 percent remain untouched!," explained the UDMR leader.
"The UDMR has consistently argued, right since the previous parliamentary terms, that special pensions should be repealed for all categories, not just for some, and that if this cannot be done or if constitutionality issues arise, special pensions should be taxed 99 percent or capped for all respective categories. (...) We all know that full speed populism and demagoguery lead to hasty decisions," said Lorand Turos.