Social democrat MP Olguta Vasilescu told a news conference Thursday the opposition will contest the bill’s legality. The opposition claims the vote on the bill was rigged.
Romanian President Traian Basescu hailed the adoption of the bill earlier Thursday, saying the 54 social assistance programs Romania has been running so far cost 19 billion lei (about EUR4.4 billion) a year and the new bill lowers the number of programs to nine and ensures a more efficient distribution of resources.
Romania’s lower house on Tuesday adopted the social welfare bill 168 to five votes, while opposition lawmakers abstained from voting. Lawmakers of the opposition did not cast votes on the bill, which they said is a pretext for authorities to lower welfare spending in the 2012 state budget. The opposition’s amendments to the bill were voted down last week.
The bill was adopted tacitly by the Senate early this month, after the opposition stalled it for two months.