PSD may seek Nicușor Dan's mediation in PNL conflict

Coalition negotiations between Romania's Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL) are at an impasse, prompting PSD to consider seeking mediation from Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan if an agreement cannot be reached. Sources indicate that PSD's interim leader, Sorin Grindeanu, has suggested involving Nicușor Dan as a last resort.

The PSD reportedly does not anticipate reaching an agreement with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan before the end of July. Meanwhile, coalition leaders plan to meet with rating agencies to assure them of political consensus on key economic issues, including deficit reduction, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) implementation, and accessing the European SAFE instrument. These measures are expected to receive parliamentary support.

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if there is no agreement between the parties, as a last resort, they will resort to Nicușor Dan's mediation.

Within the ongoing negotiations, PSD contends that it has conceded to all PNL demands concerning the government rotation mechanism and inter-party political agreements. Another significant point of contention is the proposed unified salary law for the public sector. According to sources, the current draft has become problematic following amendments made during Dragoș Pîslaru's tenure.

These amendments reportedly inflated the wage bill for the budget sector from approximately 8 billion lei to over 12 billion lei. This substantial increase makes the law's adoption difficult to justify, particularly in light of European funding. The sources suggest that the roughly 800 million euros allocated in the PNRR for the salary law would not sufficiently offset the budget impact of its implementation.

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all concessions demanded by PNL