PM Citu assures Association of Cities national state budget secures scholarships

Prime Minister Florin Citu has assured the Association of Romanian Cities (AOR) that the national budget distribution, as conceived in the draft budget for the current year, will secure "funding for scholarships, and, as provided, 90% of the funding the rights of persons with disabilities and their carers." According to a government's Facebook post, at a meeting on Thursday, Citu and AOR officials discussed the necessary governmental outlays for small and medium-sized towns so that local governments can ensure the continuation of local development projects and the start of other projects of interest to their communities. Citu is quoted as saying in the post that he supports the interest shown by the officials of these communities in investment and development, voicing full openness to evaluate with governmental specialists the solutions put forth by them. "The National Recovery and Resilience Plan, after receiving the agreement of the European Commission, represents an opportunity for small and medium-sized towns to attract the co-financing they need for certain projects," the prime minister is also quoted as saying. According to the post, the AOR officials voiced their support for the reform measures that the government will implement in the area of administration as the prime minister underlined that the reform is aimed at increasing efficiency and performance in the public administration. At the same time, regarding the decision to freeze public pay at the December 2020 level - given that in 2020 there was an average pay increase of 8% as against to 3% at EU level - Citu underlined the fact that the measure will allow an objective assessment of the situation so that the best decisions can be taken to rectify the anomalies that have been perpetuated over time in the enforcement of the public pay law. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Florea, editor: Florin Marin; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)