Simple motion on public policies implemented by Ministry of Labour and Social Protection failed

Parliament today rejected the simple motion submitted regarding the public policies implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection in the demographic policy, poverty prevention and reduction, and compensation of energy resource costs. The motion was initiated by 33 opposition MPs.

After more than three hours of debates and speeches, the motion was rejected. Of the 33 initiators of the motion, just over 20 were present for the report presented by Minister Natalia Plugaru.

Before the MPs, the minister rejected the accusations made in the motion, noting that state expenditures for social protection, as a share of GDP, increased from 10.9% in 2016 to 15.3% in 2025, reaching more than 54 billion lei.


“The increase reflects a constant budgetary effort by the Government. These data indicate that an ever-greater share of the national economy is being directed towards supporting citizens, which is happening despite the crises of the last 2–3 years. The growth has continued, and this shows that the Government has intervened actively to protect incomes and the standard of living of the population,” said Natalia Plugaru.


The official stressed that, in addition to the annual increase in the state social insurance budget, the authorities aim to reduce the recorded deficit.


“An important achievement over the last four years is that we have managed to reduce the deficit of the social insurance budget from 5.4 billion lei in 2023 to 3.6 billion lei in 2026. This is a very important indicator, because this budget is the one that covers pensions, allowances and all benefits intended for citizens. Also, the employment rate has increased and we have gradually raised the national minimum wage. All these components have directly contributed to increased contributions to the social insurance budget,” noted Natalia Plugaru.


The minister said that in the recent period, the authorities have provided more support for young families and it is planned to open more than 5,000 nursery places next year.

Plugaru said that the state social insurance budget for 2026 provides for increases in pensions, allowances and benefits granted to citizens. Thus, pensions and social benefits were indexed by 6.8% as of 1 April this year. The birth grant was increased to 21,886 lei. It is to be provided for approximately 36,000 children annually, and more than 78,000 children up to two years of age will receive a monthly allowance of 1,000 lei. For the protection of persons with disabilities, 5.9 billion lei (11.6%) will be allocated, while protection of the family and child will exceed 4.9 billion lei, up by 2.1% compared to the previous year.

MPs from the parliamentary opposition criticized the activity of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. They demanded policies to increase the birth rate and to improve childcare, noting that in villages every second child lives below the poverty line. They also called for more assisted services for persons with disabilities and revised policies on ageing.

Angela Cutasevici, an MP of Alternativa Bloc mentioned that the birth rate has declined in recent years. She also noted that the child poverty rate has reached 34%. “There is a need to rethink social protection policies.”

Nicolae Margarint, an MP from Our Party faction said that people in local communities tell MPs that the authorities “can no longer cope.” The MP said he would support the motion concerning the policies of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.

After debates and a question-and-answer session, the motion was put to a vote, and the majority of MPs voted against it, which led to the rejection of the document.

According to the Parliament’s Regulation, a simple motion may be initiated by at least 15 MPs and is adopted with the majority vote of MPs.