PM Emil Boc: Before the beginning of the Executive meeting, I would like to give few details. First, this meeting is prompted by the fact that it is the last before the beginning of the ordinary session of Parliament and is therefore the meeting in which ordinances can be adopted under the law enabling the Government to issue ordinances during parliamentary holiday.
Secondly, I would like to give few details on the avalanche of applications, statements on salary and pension increases in these moments. I want to tell very clearly and bluntly: the Government will not turn on the tap of populist measures to jeopardize the economic stability of the country, even if we are in an electoral year. This does not mean that we will not observe our commitments we set as of December. And for everybody to be well- informed on the policy of the Romanian Government on salaries and pensions in 2012, I would like to quote from the letter the Romanian Government sent to the European Commission and IMF, in December 2011, on the policy on salaries and pensions.
I repeat I quote from the letter of the Romanian Government to the international bodies: initially, the public sector wages will be frozen the same as pensions, nevertheless, if the economic conditions allow it, we aim at enforcing prudent increases to salaries and pensions latter, during the year”. This is the Romanian Executive’ stance. What everyone should know is that this Executive will not engage in salary recoveries or pension indexations without coverage in economy, as I said ever since December 2011. I add that such a provision is to be found in the report to the State budget law for 2012, where it says:
“the personnel expenditure continues the ascendant path, reaching in 2012, 6, 9 percent from GDP, with the perspective of its increase during 2012, up to 7, 2 percent if economic conditions allow it, compared to 7, 4 percent from GDP in 2011”.
Therefore, once again: stability and backing economic growth is the key. These two elements: stability and economic growth are the conditions to discuss about the enforcement of slight salary recoveries or pension indexations. But nobody should wait from Government populist measures to destabilize the country in the context of living in full economic storm of the European Union. When there is seriously talk about return to recession in the European Union, when this did not stabilize, we cannot talk of any measure without coverage in the economy.
I appeal from this point of view to all Cabinet members to remain on the same line of prudent and coherent communication. The politicians obviously can make whatever statements they want. We nevertheless carry the responsibility of the country’ stability and to observe our commitments, but neither to jeopardize what Romanians won with difficulty and suffering through the measures we enforced: economic stability of the country. This stability confers us the safety that we will not run the risk of not paying the pension and salary obligations as they are today, and creates the premises, as I said ever since December, of a slight recovery of salaries and pensions indexation in the conditions of economic coverage of them. Otherwise, we would only sell illusions and cheat on people, and they pay again with sufferings any populist policy.
Secondly, I would say that our priority remains undoubtedly, to support economic growth in 2012. You know very well that we have few engines of economic growth which should be permanently taken into account by you:

1. those 6 billions from European funds which should become reality;
2. efficiently spending 38, 2 billion RON from the state budget for investment;
3. use of state aid schemes and of de minimis aid the Government has at disposal for backing companies, SMEs, those creating jobs as only this way, can we stay consistent.

And last but not least, the continuation of administrative procedures simplification, parafiscal tariffs and taxes reduction, and simplification of procedures to which companies are subject. I would like to say here, according to those discussed, that, starting with February 6, we wait for the enforcement of the mechanism of setting up a company in three days. ANAF has already prepared the orders necessary to simplify the procedures. The same, I request the Trade Registry Office, through the Justice Ministry, to correlate these procedures so that, as of next week, we can give good news to the business environment on administrative procedures simplification, in the sense of reducing the time for setting up a company and I am sure that the State Adviser Andreea Vass will be a careful supervisor for this to happen. I request the Finance Ministry to prepare the new de minimis aid scheme to back the SMEs to create jobs, quick analysis of all applications that aim at investments and jobs in Romania.
We are in a time when each job matters. I know for instance that Bosch filed a state aid application for jobs and investment creation in Cluj and other companies that come there in Nokia place. It is about a commitment we undertook long time ago and should be observed. Not because it is about Cluj, this can be anywhere in the country, whether Delphi in Iasi, Ford in Craiova, or Pirelli from Slatina, it does not matter where investments creating jobs are. We have to quickly meet these investments requests and provide them the necessary support for them to be carried out.
And the last thing I want to refer to is investments. I requested and I want that on the meeting from 15 or around February 15, when there is the Executive meeting, we have a first reading of investments the Ministries will make in 2012, according to your prioritization.
I request you to prioritize investments according to the phase of work and to put emphasis on works in final phase, works that can be finished in 2012 to be taken into account with priority at present. I ask you to put forward a list of investments for 2012, with priority on works which are finalized this year, to demonstrate transparency in public money spending, but also efficiency for the works started and which have little to finalization to be taken into account with priority. A first reading will be around February 15. By the end of the Executive meeting, you will have a press release on briefing topics on what is to be discussed further on today. I would like to thank you the mass-media for presence. We will continue the Executive meeting.