Romanian President Sends Pension Bill Back To Parliament

The pension bill has been contested by opposition liberals, social democrats and conservatives. The social democrats have filed a criminal complaint against Roberta Anastase, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, accusing her of rigging the vote on the bill.

Basescu said he has no objections with regard to the bill’s legality, pointing out that it was given the green light by the Constitutional Court and approved by the heads of both chambers of Parliament – Anastase and Mircea Geoana, Senate Chairman and member of the Social Democratic Party.

The President noted however that the bill provided the same retirement age for both women and men – 65 years. Despite his firm support for equality of chances and equality of treatment for both genders, said the president, women have a harder time, so they should be allowed to retire sooner.