Romania: Measures are ‘social genocide’

“Social genocide,” cried the opposition Social Democrats on June 15 when Prime Minister Emil Boc’s government pushed through its budgetary reforms.  No segment of society will be left unscathed. Public sector wages will be slashed by 25 per cent and according to the IMF approximately 250,000 public sector jobs will disappear. A painful loss in a country where one-third of the work force is employed by the public sector. The original plan also included reducing pension payments by 15 per cent. However, on June 25 the Constitutional Court squashed this measure, declaring it unconstitutional. Many hailed the court’s decisions as a victory for the thousands of angry citizens who have been protesting throughout May and June. But celebrations were short lived, in the end pressure from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union won out. The next day, June 26, the government announced that starting July 1, 2010, the VAT would be raised from 19 to 24 per cent. The government was told to cut the deficit down to 6.8 per cent or wave bye bye to the next installment of aid worth €20 billion.  The money is badly needed as the Romanian economy shrank by seven per cent last year.

Voices from the field

Iulia Cospanaru of Transparency International talks about the impact of the crisis on project funding for Romanian NGOs.  While the past two years have been difficult Cospanaru remains positive. “The last two years have showed us that yes cooperation between civil society actors is needed and that yes it is possible,” she says. To find out more read the full article click here.