PNL - USR political agreement supporting Orban Cabinet's investiture

Chairman of the Save Romania Union (USR) Dan Barna announced on Monday having signed the political agreement with the National Liberal Party (PNL), mentioning that the document sets out the contributory principle throughout the public pension system, in order to ensure a fair treatment for everyone. "We signed with the Prime Minister-designate the political agreement proposed by USR at the previous meeting. We are now on the home stretch. We'll see what the committee hearings also bring. Today we discussed [our support] with our colleagues in the parliamentary group (...) and we'll also see how the picks for minister deliver, how they perform at the committee hearings. (...) We explicitly and unequivocally support the idea that we must rid ourselves of the Dancila Government as soon as possible and I hope that next Monday we have a new legitimate government, confirmed by Parliament," Barna said after meeting with PNL Chairman and Prime Minister-designate Ludovic Orban. He said that the agreement includes a rephrasing of the provision on special pensions, stating "that the entire system of public pensions is set on the contributory principle, in compliance with the rulings of the Constitutional Court regarding the pensions of the military staff and magistrates and according to the bills previously tabled by the two parties, aimed at ensuring a fair treatment for all." "We will do everything in our power to have a quorum. Just as for the Prime Minister-designate, our priority is to get rid of the Dancila Government as soon as possible, to enter the logic of a government confirmed by Parliament," Barna said, adding that Prime Minister-designate Ludovic Orban confirmed that after the budget is designed and after the presidential ballot the agreement for early elections should come back on the table of discussions. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Florin Marin; EN: author: Simona Klodnischi, editor: Simona Iacob)