Prime Minister-designate Luca Niculescu said on Monday that Romania urgently needed a fully empowered government, not to fill positions but because of concrete problems affecting Romanians' daily lives.

In this context, he called on political parties to show an even greater willingness to engage in dialogue and reach a decision.

'We are entering a new week that will be decisive for the future of the Government. I have spent all these days working to find a governing formula that will provide Romania with the stability it needs and, first of all, I want to thank the parties for the dialogue and openness they have shown. All options remain on the table and I will continue the discussions. I have several meetings with political formations today as well, but I believe the time has come to speed things up. Romania can no longer afford to prolong this period of political uncertainty. We urgently need a government with full powers and I am not saying this simply to fill a few positions, but because there are very concrete problems affecting our lives and the daily lives of Romanians,' Luca Niculescu told Radio Romania Actualitati.

He stressed that it was not enough to have a government that secured Parliament's approval, but the country needed one that was also able to govern.

'My message to the parliamentary parties is that we need an even greater willingness to engage in dialogue and take responsibility for a decision. Once again, I greatly appreciate the fact that some political formations have expressed their willingness to support a government, whether political, technocratic or a mixed formula. However, what I want to say is that it is not enough to have a government that passes the parliamentary vote. We need a government that can actually govern. A government that receives a vote of investiture but is then unable to adopt the necessary measures does not represent a genuine way out of the crisis,' Niculescu said.

The Prime Minister-designate pointed out that a political agreement on several key objectives needed to be considered.

'That is why I believe we should consider a formal political agreement on a number of essential objectives, such as the budget revision, the adoption of the budget, energy measures, economic recovery, improving budget revenue collection, which is also very important, and strengthening Romania's defence capabilities, because there is a war on our borders. The agreement should also include anything else the parties consider to be in Romania's interests, because Romanians need to see that politicians are capable of finding solutions together. Of course, this is always about Romania, but it is also about how we present ourselves internationally. Our international partners and investors need a clear signal that Romania is a stable, predictable and credible country that honours its commitments. I am continuing my efforts to form a government, but time is not unlimited,' Niculescu added.

He also reiterated that he firmly intended to submit the government programme and the list of ministers to Parliament on Thursday.

'I firmly intend to submit the government programme and the list of Cabinet ministers to Parliament on Thursday. To do this, we need to reach an agreement so that, as I said, we have a government that can not only secure Parliament's approval but also govern afterwards,' Niculescu stressed.

In this context, he was asked how disagreements between the parties could be overcome and what form of support for the future government he considered possible.

'I understand the differences between the parties and the mistrust between them. If there had been simple solutions, we would have had a government long ago and would not be facing the problems we have today. But these problems exist, while a fully empowered government does not. I have proposed that we consider an agreement to support certain priority reforms and measures that Romania needs to implement, for six months, for example. I hope the parties, which are clearly concerned with Romania's interests, will reach an understanding and work together to find a way to bring the country out of this political, economic and social crisis,' Niculescu said.

Asked which political formations had already agreed to support the government he would propose, he replied: 'I will not go into all the details relating to the negotiations, as there is also a degree of confidentiality involved - you cannot make everything public (...). You have seen the parties' statements yourselves. Some of them have expressed support for this government. Once again, it also depends on the form the government will take: will it be a political government or a more technocratic one? I will not hide the fact that my preference is for a political government, because the parties that vote for it and those that are part of it would bear greater responsibility. Ultimately, politics is conducted by politicians, but all options remain on the table. We can continue working and discussing the matter, but, once again, time is not unlimited,' Niculescu said. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Florea; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)

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