Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader Sorin Grindeanu announced on Monday that his party wants the government to engage its responsibility before Parliament for the territorial-administrative reform and for the reorganisation of central government. He also said that taxes for Romanians and Romanian companies will not increase next year.
Grindeanu addressed the government led by Prime Minister Luca Niculescu, asking that the reforms be put forward through a separate vote of confidence. According to the reporting, his demands include merging small localities, reducing the number of agencies, and reorganising or liquidating certain state-owned companies. The request is presented as the first firm condition his party sets for the executive, and it is the central element of the message he delivered after the meeting.
Speaking after a session of the party's Permanent National Bureau, Grindeanu said the country has many concrete problems to solve for ordinary Romanians after a year and a half of austerity. He argued that the economy needs predictability, and used this argument to justify his promise that the population and Romanian companies will not face higher taxes in 2027. The statement was made on the same day as the Bureau's session, which is why it was presented as a party position rather than a government decision.
Grindeanu criticised the austerity policies of the previous government led by Ilie Bolojan, which he described as a "government with the axe". He said PSD would place the emphasis on relaunching economic growth, positioning the party's economic agenda against the approach of the earlier executive. Niculescu, according to reports, avoided making the same promise on taxes, a difference that coverage of the announcement highlighted and that frames the tax question as a point of divergence between the party and the prime minister.
The political message arrives against a backdrop of rising energy costs. Reference gas prices on the European market passed 97 euros per megawatt-hour on Monday, the first time since 2022, according to Bloomberg. Concerns about supply for the coming winter have pushed prices up, alongside uncertainty over how the conflict in the Middle East will develop. Gas storage levels in Europe are at their lowest for this time of year in 17 years, a combination that raises the stakes for any government promising stable taxation and economic predictability.
For Romanian businesses and households, the announcement therefore links two open questions: whether the government will accept a parliamentary commitment on structural reform, and whether fiscal policy can remain stable while energy markets tighten. Grindeanu's demand places the responsibility for both on the executive, and the prime minister's response on the tax pledge will be a key point to watch in the coming weeks.