PM Boc introduces Gov't priorities to Senate

Prime Minister Emil Boc on Monday introduced the legislative priorities of the Government that include a fiscal responsibility law, the education law and the finalisation of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Code of Civil Procedure.

Boc said he hopes the fiscal responsibility law will clear Parliament by end-March, adding that he believes the law is 'extremely sound'.

'The fiscal responsibility law, which draft version is being debated in the Senate, introduces fiscal discipline, establishes the framework for multi-annual budgeting and bans funds transfers from investment to cover staff costs. At the same time, it shows the way in which the Finance Ministry should administer public money.

It brings transparency into the relationship between Government and Parliament and in the way the Budget is drawn up,' Boc said, adding that the passage of the fiscal responsibility law is tightly connected to the adoption of another normative act that regulates the budgetary strategy for 2011-2013.

Another draft law the Government wants to promote regards improving spending control of local administrations.

In connection with the Education Law draft, Boc underscored that this offers guarantees to children and parents alike that they will be provided access to the best schools and universities in Romania and that the public resources invested in education will prove their efficiency.

'Under this law, we are making sure that the school curricula will be so built as to effect a switch from quantity to skills. We want to strengthen the role of local communities in the education system through decentralisation. Thus, school management boards will be made up of local community officials - parents and teachers - who will decide on up to 20-30 percent of what school subjects will be studied in what part of the country. Thus, the economic potentials of each part will be better capitalised on,' said Boc.

In another line of thought, Boc explained that the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Code of Civil Procedure have to be finalised.

'Without these two codes, the Criminal Code and the Civil Code already adopted cannot be applied. The two draft codes simplify judicial procedures, reduce the length of court trials in Romania and offer the citizens the prospects for final and binding sentences being issued more quickly than so far. There will also be a uniform jurisprudence in Romania,' said Boc.

Another normative act the Government wants to draw up concerns turning the minimum corporate tax into a mandatory one. The Boc Cabinet also wants to continue the First Home project for first time homebuyers.

'The First Home project should be steered toward homes built up from scratch so that we may generate more jobs and unfreeze lending. There have so far been 14,000 applications submitted under this project, for Government guarantees worth 595 million euros,' Boc explained.

Agerpres