Barna: PSD was and remains party of poverty; PNRR, not rejected, consultations are natural

Deputy Prime Minister Dan Barna, co-chair of Save Romania Union - Freedom, Unity, Solidarity Party (USR PLUS), said on Friday in Sibiu that the Social Democratic Party (PSD)'s attack on the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) is "irresponsible", explaining that the consultations underway these days with the European Commission are "natural", the PNRR will be approved and it will be a "success". "I see an attack of the PSD and its chair that I call downright irresponsible on what the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) means. It is an attack that shows how little the PSD understands about what such a programme and such a plan mean for Romania. An absolutely natural procedure, a procedure that will last for two months, during which the European Commission will send to all the countries that have sent these programmes (...) natural and normal questions and clarifications when we are talking about documents of thousands or tens of thousands of pages, is transformed by the PSD into an attack, practically, on Romania's perspective and credibility both as a European partner and as a country capable of developing such a programme. This is obviously happening because the PSD was and remains a party of poverty, a party that believes that an underdeveloped Romania can provide it with the political clientele with which it has accustomed us and with which it has kept Romania underdeveloped for 30 years," Dan Barna said in a press statement. The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that the programme will be approved and will be a success, and Romania will implement major projects by 2026. "I have news for Mr. Ciolacu [PSD chairman] and for the PSD members who support him: this programme will be a success, Romania will attract these over 29 billion euros and Romania will develop, in a way that the PSD has tried to prevent from happening in all the governments it has had until now (...) The programme has not been rejected, it has not been withdrawn, there is a natural consultation, the programme will be approved, Romania will have this resource and by 2026 we will have the chance to see major projects, important projects that have never existed in Romania," added Dan Barna. Chairman of PSD Marcel Ciolacu Marcel Ciolacu urged Minister of European Investment and Projects Cristian Ghinea to resign, adding that if the National Liberal Party (PNL) and Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) lawmakers fail to vote on the simple motion filed against him by PSD, they will be equally accountable. The European Commission (EC) has started an in-depth assessment of the recovery and resilience plans (PNRR) it has received from member states to access funding under the European recovery plan for the economies affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic, the EC Representation in Romania announced on Friday. The European Commission has two months to approve the national plans, one of the essential conditions for their approval being that Member States allocate at least 37 percent to the ecological transition and 20 percent to the digital sector, the release issued by the EC Representation in Romania further mentions.AGERPRES(RO - author: Anamaria Constantin, editor: Marius Fratila; EN - editor: Simona Iacob)