Romania could shrink from 41 counties to 15 under a territorial overhaul proposed by the Social Democratic Party, Digi24 reported.
Dragoș Benea, a European lawmaker and PSD vice president leading the party’s working group on the reform, said the model is inspired by the country’s 15 appellate court jurisdictions. The plan aims to create stronger communities and regions and improve European fund absorption ahead of the 2028 EU financial framework.
“We proposed a mechanism of county reorganization committees which, based on a sustainability matrix including six entirely apolitical criteria, will help us create stronger communities, stronger regions, stronger cities,” Benea told Digi24.
According to the Law No. 304/2022 on judicial organization, the court seats and assigned counties are the courts in Alba Iulia, Pitești, Bacău, Oradea, Suceava, Brașov, Bucharest, Cluj, Constanța, Craiova, Galați, Iași, Târgu Mureș, Ploiești, and Timișoara.
Sustenabilitate și Fonduri Europene
EU Cohesion funds will face stricter competition from agriculture, innovation, and defense in the 2028–2034 budget, according to Benea. Reunited counties can better absorb available European grants and handle administrative demands, he added.
“Money from Cohesion will be scarcer and in competition with agriculture,” Benea told Digi24. “The European Union has changed its tack and places cohesion somewhat in second place, prioritizing innovation, armaments, technology.”
Antena 3 reported that under this working scenario, administrative hubs like Bihor, Timiș, Dolj, Constanța, Galați, Prahova, Alba, Mureș, Bacău, Iași, Suceava, and Cluj would absorb neighboring districts such as Satu Mare, Arad, and Tulcea.
Reducerea Cheltuielilor Publice
The reform targets smaller communes and local government overhead to ease the burden on taxpayers, Benea explained to Digi24. Fewer local elected officials, mayors, and town halls would lower operational costs.
“Fewer local elected officials, fewer mayors, fewer deputy mayors, fewer town hall headquarters, with operating and maintenance costs,” Benea told Digi24. “Essentially, a substantially reduced burden on the shoulders of the taxpayer, who should no longer wake up with unjustifiably increased taxes and fees overnight.”
PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu announced on October 26 that he proposed Prime Minister Luca Niculescu have the government assume responsibility for the administrative reform and governmental restructuring by March 2027, HotNews.ro reported.
Contestarea Proiectului
Buzău Mayor Constantin Toma criticized the proposal as a political map designed to secure PSD victories in the 2028 elections, HotNews.ro reported. Toma argued that such a major territorial change requires broader consultation across political parties and experts from the Romanian Academy.
“If this idea is from PSD, the PSD thinks two or three moves ahead,” Toma told Digi24, according to HotNews.ro. “Certainly it will be a map of the PSD for the 2028 elections.”
President Nicușor Dan stated that while voluntary or forced mergers are needed for small, non-functional communes, reshaping the county map before the next local elections is unrealistic given that the current administrative division dates back to 1968, tvrinfo.ro reported.
This direction of reorganization is also supported by PSD leaders from Oltenia, including Craiova Mayor Lia Olguța Vasilescu and European lawmaker Claudiu Manda.
Întrebări Frecvente
Câte județe ar putea rămâne în România dacă se aplică modelul propus?
Proiectul ia ca punct de plecare cele 15 circumscripții ale Curților de Apel, dar numărul final nu a fost stabilit, fiind analizate variante între 12 și 22 de județe, potrivit Adevărul.
Care este termenul limită avansat pentru asumarea răspunderii guvernamentale?
Liderul PSD, Sorin Grindeanu, a cerut ca asumarea răspunderii pe reforma administrativă să aibă loc până în martie 2027, conform HotNews.ro.
Ce criterii vor sta la baza comasării județelor?
Reorganizarea se va baza pe o matrice a sustenabilității care include șase criterii apolitice, printre care populația rezidentă și capacitatea de colectare a taxelor locale, relata Antena 3.
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