DirectDemocracyS

Global Political System with Shared Leadership and Collective Ownership

POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL PROGRAM

ROMANIA

Critical Analysis of the Current Situation

Structural Diagnosis of Problems

Concrete, Detailed and Functional Solutions

Version 1.0 — May 2026

Document prepared by DirectDemocracyS for Romania

 

PREMISE: WHY THIS PROGRAM?

Romania is a country with extraordinary resources, a capable and resilient population, and a strategic geopolitical position at the crossroads of Eastern Europe. Yet, more than thirty years after the fall of communism, Romanian citizens continue to experience a persistent structural crisis: mass emigration, endemic corruption, degraded public services, growing inequality, and fragile institutions.

This program is not a generic electoral document. It is a rigorous analysis of reality, followed by concrete, measurable, and implementable solutions step by step. It is built on the founding values of DirectDemocracyS: logic, common sense, understanding reality, truth, internal coherence, and mutual respect between all citizens and institutions.

No impossible promises. No demagoguery. Just honest diagnosis and thoughtful treatment.

THE FOUNDING PRINCIPLES OF THIS PROGRAM

1. TRUTH: Every analysis starts from real data, not from convenient political narratives.

2. LOGIC: Each proposed solution has a verifiable causal chain.

3. CONSISTENCY: The measures support each other, none contradicts the others.

4. REALISTIC GRADUALITY: each reform is divided into precise time phases.

5. COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY: citizens are not spectators, they are protagonists.

6. NON-TRANSFERABLE COLLECTIVE OWNERSHIP: Common resources remain common.

7. SHARED LEADERSHIP: No single individual or group holds absolute power.

 

PART I — DIAGNOSIS OF THE CURRENT SITUATION

1.1 REAL MACROECONOMIC FRAMEWORK

Romania is the European Union's seventh-largest economy by nominal GDP (approximately €350 billion in 2024), but it ranks among the countries with the lowest GDP per capita in the EU, around €18,000 in purchasing power parity. This apparent contradiction reveals the profoundly unbalanced structure of the Romanian economy.

Indicator	Value / Situation (2024-2025)
Nominal GDP	~350 billion EUR
GDP per capita (PPP)	~18,000 EUR (about 72% of the EU average)
Fiscal deficit	~8% of GDP — among the highest in the EU, outside the Maastricht limits
Public debt	~55% of GDP, growing rapidly from 35% in 2019
Inflation	Down to 5-7% in 2025, after peaking at 15%+ in 2022
Official unemployment	~5.5%, but underestimates grey work and emigration
Net emigration	Over 4 million Romanians live permanently abroad
Trade balance	Structural deficit of around 25-30 billion EUR/year
Gini coefficient	~34 — significant inequality, worsening

Diagnosis: The problem of structural deficit

Romania's fiscal deficit is the largest in the EU. In recent years, Romania has financed current expenditure (especially public salaries and pensions) through borrowing, without investing proportionately in productivity. The result is rapidly growing debt without a corresponding increase in domestic productive capacity. The European Commission has initiated an excessive deficit procedure. Without action, Romania risks a sovereign debt crisis within five to eight years.

Diagnosis: The Economy of External Dependence

Romania's economic structure is characterized by heavy dependence on foreign direct investment concentrated in low-value-added sectors (assembly, logistics, call centers), massive imports of consumer goods and technology, and remittances from emigrants as a significant component of household income. It is not a sovereign economy in the full sense of the term: it is a peripheral economy inserted in a subordinate position within global value chains.

1.2 SYSTEMIC CORRUPTION AND THE CAPTURED STATE

Corruption in Romania is not an episodic, marginal, or cultural phenomenon in the sense of inevitable. It is an organized system of redistribution of power and public wealth in favor of patronage networks that span political parties, public administration, the judiciary, law enforcement, and the private sector connected to the state.

MAIN FORMS OF SYSTEMIC CORRUPTION IN ROMANIA

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: ad hoc tenders for companies linked to political parties, cascading subcontracts, systematic cost inflation.

HEALTHCARE: informal payments ('plicul') for access to care, purchases of equipment at overpriced prices, political appointment of hospital directors.

JUSTICE: political appointments to top positions in the judicial system, pressure on magistrates, and instrumental trials against opponents.

EUROPEAN FUNDS: chronically low absorption (often below 30-40%) due to incompetence and/or drainage towards related parties.

TAX: Tax evasion tolerated by politically connected companies, selective pressure on SMEs and self-employed workers.

URBAN PLANNING: variations to the Master Plan sold to builders, land speculation on public lands.

Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranked Romania 63rd in the world and among the lowest in the EU in 2024. This isn't a subjective opinion: it's a systematic survey of thousands of businesses and citizens.

Diagnosis: The State Captured

Romania exhibits the characteristics of a "state capture": a mechanism in which formally democratic institutions are undermined from within by interest networks that exploit them for private gain. Romanian political parties (PSD, PNL, AUR, UDMR, USR, with varying degrees of success) are predominantly clientelist machines, not communities of political vision. Declared ideologies are pretexts, not programs. The result is that citizens find themselves periodically forced to choose between variants of the same dysfunction.

1.3 EMIGRATION: THE SILENT DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS

Romanian emigration is the country's greatest structural crisis, yet it is rarely addressed with the seriousness it deserves because those who emigrate don't vote (or vote rarely), and because politicians prefer to hide the systemic failure that emigration represents.

Given	Estimate / Source
Romanians permanently residing abroad	4-4.5 million (EU, UK, USA, Canada)
Main destinations	Italy (~1.2M), Spain (~700K), Germany (~700K), UK (~400K)
Emigrant doctors 2007-2023	Over 14,000 — among the highest in Europe in relative terms
Average age of emigrants	20-40 years — the most productive age group
Remittances received annually	~4-5 billion EUR — approximately 1.3% of GDP
Rural municipalities in critical depopulation	Over 600 — without young people, without an economic future
Population decline expected by 2050	From 19M to potentially 14-15M inhabitants

Emigration is not the fault of the emigrants. It is the rational and individually correct response of people seeking dignity, adequate wages, functioning services, and personal safety. The fault lies with the system that made it rational to abandon one's country. This program addresses the causes, not the effects.

1.4 HEALTH SYSTEM: STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE

The Romanian healthcare system is in an advanced state of deterioration, documented by every available indicator. Public healthcare spending is chronically below the EU average (about 5-6% of GDP versus an average of 7-8%), but the problem is not just financial: it is organizational, managerial, cultural, and political.

• Avoidable mortality: Romania has one of the highest rates of treatable mortality in the EU — conditions that are successfully treated in other countries cause death here due to late diagnosis, inadequate treatment, or simple lack of access.
• Hospital Infrastructure: The majority of Romania's public hospitals are housed in buildings constructed before 1989, often failing to meet updated anti-seismic and hygiene standards. Modern regional hospitals, promised decades ago, have been built decades late or never completed.
• Professional flight: Doctors and nurses systematically emigrate to Germany, France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom, attracted by salaries three to five times higher. The Romanian system trains doctors (often in Italian or English) who then work elsewhere.
• Informal payments: The "plic" (envelope with money) is an informal institution parallel to the formal system. Patients pay extra-legal fees to obtain adequate care. Those who cannot pay are at risk.
• Telemedicine and digital technologies: Almost nonexistent in the public system. Medical records are still largely paper-based. Interoperability between facilities is virtually nonexistent.

1.5 EDUCATION: A FACTORY OF EMIGRANTS, NOT CITIZENS

The Romanian education system is technically functional in terms of formal access, but profoundly dysfunctional in terms of quality, equity, and relevance to the labor market and the construction of critical citizenship.

• Early school dropout: Romania has one of the highest rates in the EU (15-16% versus an average of 9%). In rural areas and Roma communities, the rate exceeds 30-40%.
• Urban-rural divide: Rural students have radically lower educational expectations than urban students. Rural schools lack qualified teachers, laboratories, and reliable internet connectivity.
• Exam corruption: The results of the Baccalaureate exams have repeatedly shown signs of systematic plagiarism and irregularities. The value of the degree is eroded by the widespread perception of irregularities.
• Outdated curriculum: The national curriculum remains fundamentally anchored to models from the 1990s. Civic education, critical thinking, personal finance, entrepreneurship, and advanced digital skills are marginal or absent.
• Universities and research: Romanian universities produce graduates who are often unrecognizable on the international market. Research is underfunded, and academic careers are unattractive. The academic brain drain is massive.

1.6 INFRASTRUCTURE: THE THIRTY-YEAR DELAY

Romania has the poorest highway network in the EU in proportion to its territory and population. In 2024, the country had approximately 950 km of highways—less than Lithuania, less than Croatia, and incomparably less than Poland, which built a modern network in 15 years, thanks in part to European funding. Yet Romania has had access to the same funds and has either squandered them or failed to absorb them.

Infrastructure sector	Current situation
Highways	~950 km total — among the lowest in the EU for a country of that size
Railways	Extensive but degraded network, average speed among the lowest in Europe
Airports	Only Bucharest functions at European standard; the others are inadequate.
National roads	Tens of thousands of kilometers of bridges are in critical condition.
Sewerage system	Less than 50% of the rural population connected to sewerage systems
Drinking water	Significant rural areas without access to safe drinking water
Digital / Internet	Paradox: Excellent broadband in cities, digital desert in rural areas
Energy	Transmission system outdated, dependence on Russian gas being reduced

Romania's infrastructure paradox is that the country has one of the best internet connectivity rates in Europe in urban areas (the result of private investment in the 2000s) and simultaneously some of the worst physical infrastructure in the EU. This imbalance reflects the structure of the state: where the market could do it alone, it did; where the state was needed, it failed.

1.7 AGRICULTURE AND TERRITORY: UNUSED WEALTH

Romania has the second largest usable agricultural area in the EU, exceptionally fertile soils (especially in Wallachia and Moldova), favorable climate conditions for many crops, and abundant freshwater. Yet it imports huge quantities of processed foods, sells raw grains at commodity prices, and lost the majority of its agri-food industries in the post-communist transition.

• Land fragmentation: Millions of small landowners (average holdings less than 2 hectares) are unable to consolidate due to economies of scale. Simultaneously, large foreign investors are purchasing or leasing tens of thousands of hectares.
• Land purchases from foreigners: Since 2014, European and non-European investment funds have acquired significant portions of Romanian agricultural land. Romania risks becoming a country of tenant farmers.
• Lack of irrigation: The communist irrigation system was dismantled after 1989. Droughts have become recurrent in formerly irrigated areas. Restoration is technically possible but requires public investment.
• Absent agri-food industry: Instead of processing and adding value to its agricultural products, Romania exports raw materials and imports finished products. This results in a loss of national added value worth billions every year.

1.8 JUSTICE AND RULE OF LAW

The Romanian justice system is slow, selective, subject to political pressure, and characterized by deep popular distrust. High-profile corruption cases often have unpredictable or controversial outcomes. The National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) has achieved significant results at times, but has also been the target of systematic political attacks when it has affected influential figures.

• Length of Trials: Civil and criminal trials last on average years—often decades for major cases. The statute of limitations is used as a defense mechanism by the powerful.
• Access to justice: The cost and complexity of the justice system make it virtually impossible for ordinary citizens to assert their rights against powerful entities (illegal employers, businesses, public administrations).
• Political interference: Appointments to top positions in the judiciary have repeatedly been controversial. The CSM (Higher Council of the Judiciary) has often acted as a corporatist instrument rather than a guarantor of independence.

 

PART II — THE DIRECTDEMOCRACYS PROGRAM FOR ROMANIA

Each of the following sections corresponds to a critical thematic area. For each area, the program presents specific and measurable objectives, concrete measures with timelines, examples of countries that have successfully implemented similar reforms, and expected short-, medium-, and long-term consequences.

2.1 DEMOCRATIC REFORM AND ANTI-CORRUPTION

Central Objective

Transform the Romanian political system from a clientelist oligarchy to a truly participatory democracy, where citizens are not just voters every four years but permanent protagonists of the decisions that affect them.

Measure 2.1.1 — Reform of the electoral system

The current Romanian electoral system (proportional with a threshold) favors the concentration of power in traditional parties. The reform envisages:

• Introduction of binding preferential voting: citizens vote directly for the candidate, not just the list. This reduces the power of party secretariats to place loyalists.
• Lowering the electoral threshold to 3% for national parties, and eliminating the threshold for lists of organized minorities.
• Mandatory introduction of real-time online reporting of election expenses for all parties and candidates.
• Maximum term of two consecutive terms for each elected office — including Parliament.
• Absolute incompatibility between an elected mandate and ownership or significant participation in companies that have economic relations with the State.

Concrete example: Poland has introduced similar electoral transparency measures. Estonia has developed one of the most advanced e-voting systems in the world. Romania has the technology to do it—it just lacks the political will.

Measure 2.1.2 — Direct and participatory democracy

DirectDemocracyS brings its participatory democracy tools to the Romanian system:

• Citizens' referendum: 100,000 digitally verified signatures allow any bill to be brought to a binding parliamentary vote—with a mandatory vote within 90 days.
• Mandatory participatory budgeting: At least 15% of each municipality's budget and 5% of the regional budget must be allocated through direct online voting by citizens.
• Mandatory pre-legislative popular consultations for any measure that impacts more than 5% of the population.
• National digital participation platform DirectDemocracyS: completely open-source, verified, and accessible via smartphone. Model: DirectDemocracyS.

Measure 2.1.3 — Radical reform of anti-corruption

• Establish an independent National Anti-Corruption Agency, with staff selected for their expertise (not political appointments), automatic funding (1% of the state budget), and direct reporting to Parliament and citizens.
• Enhanced whistleblower protocol: full legal protection, financial reward of 5% of the value of the damage avoided for substantiated reports that lead to convictions.
• Verifiable digital asset declarations for all public employees above the managerial level—available online to every citizen.
• Extended confiscation: A corruption conviction automatically confiscates all assets of the convicted person who cannot demonstrate their legitimate origin. There is no statute of limitations for corruption offenses committed by public officials.
• Specialized Anti-Corruption Court with judges selected for international public examination, with the presence of observers from the European Commission.
• Public procurement is fully publicized: every tender over €10,000 is published on a verifiable blockchain platform. Any contract changes are automatically made public.

Example: Georgia (a Caucasus country) dramatically reduced low-level corruption between 2004 and 2012 through similar radical reforms. The result was a rapid improvement in citizen services. Romania can do the same—the problem is not technical complexity but political resistance.

EXPECTED CONSEQUENCES — DEMOCRATIC REFORMS

SHORT TERM (1-2 years): Strong resistance from traditional parties. Media mobilization likely against the reforms. Need for a broad civic coalition.

MEDIUM-TERM (3-5 years): Measurable reduction in corruption in procurement (estimated 30-40% reduction in inflated costs). Increased absorption of European funds. Greater institutional trust.

LONG-TERM (5-10 years): Structural reduction of brain drain related to lack of meritocracy. Attracting high-quality foreign investment. Romania becomes a credible European partner.

2.2 TAX AND FINANCIAL REFORM

Central Objective

Bring the fiscal deficit back to within 3% of GDP within 5 years without disrupting domestic demand, redistributing the tax burden equitably, and building a stable and transparent public financial base.

Tax diagnosis

Romania's tax system is characterized by a 10% flat tax on personal income tax (one of the lowest and most regressive in the EU), a 19% VAT rate that affects low-income earners disproportionately more, tax evasion estimated at 15-20% of GDP, high social security contributions that discourage regular hiring, and chronically inefficient public spending.

Measure 2.2.1 — Income tax reform

• Introduction of a moderate progressive tax rate: 0% up to RON 2,000/month (approximately EUR 400), 10% from RON 2,001 to RON 5,000, 15% from RON 5,001 to RON 15,000, 20% above RON 15,000. This protects low-income earners and generates more resources from high-income earners.
• Fully deductible healthcare, education, and building renovation expenses with invoices. Incentives for invoicing and combats tax evasion.
• Abolish abusive flat-rate tax regimes used by high-income earners, structuring them as microbusinesses to pay minimum tax rates.

Measure 2.2.2 — Combating tax evasion

• Mandatory electronic invoicing for all B2B and B2C commercial transactions over RON 50. The e-Invoicing system already introduced in Romania must be expanded and made fully operational.
• 5% tax cashback for consumers who use payment cards at registered merchants — an incentive for traceable payments.
• Mandatory POS for every commercial, professional, or artisanal activity with an annual turnover exceeding RON 10,000.
• Automatically cross-reference tax data with land registry records, vehicle registrations, and financial transactions. Risk scoring algorithms for tax audits, reducing discretionary controls and increasing evidence-based controls.
• Reducing employer contribution rates for new permanent contracts in rural and depressed areas — combating undeclared work with positive incentives.

Example: Italy has significantly reduced VAT evasion through mandatory electronic invoicing (introduced in 2019), recovering billions each year. Romania has already started on the path—it needs to be accelerated and implemented effectively.

Measure 2.2.3 — Public spending reform

• Sector-by-sector spending review using a methodology based on measurable results. Each budget line must demonstrate effectiveness or it will be reduced/eliminated.
• Gradual elimination of incentives and subsidies to non-productive companies (zombie firms) that survive thanks to political favors.
• Selective increase in spending on healthcare (+1% of GDP in 5 years), education (+0.5%), strategic infrastructure (+1%), R&D (+0.3%).
• A freeze on inflation-linked public sector wage increases, but a simultaneous requalification of functions: fewer employees in redundant bureaucratic functions, more employees in direct services to citizens.
• Romanian Sovereign Wealth Fund: Creation of a public investment fund capitalized by proceeds from the fight against tax evasion and the selective privatization of non-strategic assets. Target: €5 billion over 10 years, invested in infrastructure, R&D, and youth entrepreneurship.

DEFICIT RECOVERY PLAN — PROJECTIONS

Year 1-2: Anti-tax evasion measures and spending review. Estimated deficit: from 8% to 6.5% of GDP.

Year 3-4: Tax reform fully implemented, reducing unproductive spending. Deficit: 5% of GDP.

Year 5: Consolidation. Deficit: 3% of GDP — within the Maastricht parameters.

Years 7-10: Positive primary balance. Debt/GDP ratio begins to decline.

NOTE: Projections assume real GDP growth of 3-4% per year, conditional on reforms.

2.3 ECONOMIC AND INDUSTRIAL REFORM

Central Objective

Transform Romania from a dependent peripheral economy into a semi-autonomous economy with a diversified industrial base, a strong technology sector, a sovereign and valued agriculture, and a network of innovative SMEs competitive at the European level.

Measure 2.3.1 — Selective industrial policy

Romania must choose which sectors to build a real competitive advantage in, instead of trying to compete in everything based solely on labor costs (which are eroding anyway).

• Technology and IT: Romania's IT sector is already a strong point: 70,000+ qualified developers, competitive costs, excellent urban connectivity. The goal: to double the sector in seven years through technology hubs in five cities (Cluj, Iasi, Timisoara, Bucharest, and Brasov), R&D tax incentives, and university-business partnerships.
• Processed agri-food: Public investments and private incentives to build integrated agri-food supply chains—from production to processing to export. The goal: to quadruple exports of processed agri-food products in 10 years.
• Renewable energy: Romania has excellent wind (Black Sea, Dobrogea), solar, and hydropower potential. A national plan calls for 10 GW of new renewable capacity by 2035, with priority given to local industry for the production and installation chain.
• Defense and military industry: In the post-2022 geopolitical context, Romania can expand its defense industrial base. Investments in maintaining and developing national capabilities—with civilian technological spin-offs.
• Sustainable tourism: Romania is significantly under-touristed compared to its resources. Strategic planning of cultural, nature, and gastronomic tourism—with adequate infrastructure and professional international promotion.

Measure 2.3.2 — Support for SMEs and entrepreneurship

• Reduced bureaucratic burden: open a business online in 24 hours. Full interoperability between all public registries (ANAF, Registrul Comerțului, ONRC). No redundant paperwork.
• National Guarantee Fund for SMEs: 80% public guarantee for loans up to €500,000 for businesses with fewer than 50 employees and less than five years of existence.
• Public incubators in regional capitals offering low-cost space, mentoring, and access to international networks.
• Romania 1000 Program: 1,000 scholarships per year for young people under 30 to attend international startup accelerators (Y Combinator, Seedcamp, etc.) with a moral (not legal) obligation to bring their startup to Romania.
• Easier access to European funding for SMEs: one-stop shop, free technical assistance, and pre-financing of up to 30% of the funds awarded.

Measure 2.3.3 — Sovereign Trade Policy

• Renegotiate agreements for the concession and exploitation of natural resources (gas, oil, minerals) to increase the share of state royalties. Current agreements are often generous to multinationals and detrimental to the Romanian state.
• Agricultural land protection: The sale of agricultural land to non-residents, foreign legal entities, or investment funds is prohibited. Long-term leasing is possible, but ownership is not.
• Reciprocity standards in public procurement: companies from countries that do not guarantee equal access to Romanian procurement are not allowed to participate in Romanian procurement.

2.4 HEALTH CARE REFORM

Central Objective

Build a universal public healthcare system, of quality comparable to the European average, based on the right to health as a fundamental right—not as a political favor or privilege for those who can afford it.

Measure 2.4.1 — Structural reorganization of the Romanian National Health Service

• Reorganization into 8 health regions (corresponding to the geographic macro-regions) with full management autonomy, a risk-weighted population-based budget, and accountability for health outcomes.
• National hospital renovation plan: 30 new, modern regional hospitals in 15 years. Old, abandoned buildings are being converted into community facilities. Funding: 60% European funds (NRRP and structural funds), 40% national budget.
• Complete digitalization: interoperable electronic health records for every citizen within three years. Telemedicine as the standard for rural areas. Single national booking via app. Elimination of all redundant paper requests.
• Strengthened family doctors: investment in primary care (the most effective and cost-effective level of the system). Bonuses for family doctors who choose rural areas (50% salary increase, free housing, and equipment).

Measure 2.4.2 — Retaining and attracting healthcare professionals

• National Healthcare Wage Plan: Healthcare workers' salaries to increase by 40% over four years. Regular comparison with European averages to prevent wage erosion over time.
• Meritocratic career: Career advancement based on documented competence and performance evaluation—not seniority, political loyalty, or informal payments.
• 'Return to Romania' program for expat doctors: five-year tax incentives (full exemption), subsidized housing, and guaranteed modern clinic facilities.
• State-funded continuing education for all healthcare professionals — mandatory and paid refresher courses.

Measure 2.4.3 — Elimination of informal payments

• Anonymization of reports: An app for reporting requests for informal payments. The verified whistleblower receives a 10% bonus on the value of the damage avoided.
• Simultaneous salary increases: The "plic" exists partly because official salaries are inadequate. A well-paid and monitored doctor has less incentive to ask for bribes.
• Mandatory clinical audit: Peer review of clinical results. Doctors with abnormally low performance are subject to inspection. Professional accountability is real, not formal.

Example: Latvia, after severe difficulties post-2008 crisis, rebuilt its healthcare system with similar measures. Lithuania has dramatically reduced healthcare corruption through digitalization and wage increases. These countries have comparable resources to Romania—the results are verifiable.

2.5 EDUCATION REFORM

Central Objective

Transforming the Romanian education system from a mechanism for transmitting obsolete content to a system for training critical citizens, competent professionals, and innovative entrepreneurs—capable of building the Romania of the future instead of abandoning it.

Measure 2.5.1 — Curricular reform

• New national curriculum based on: critical thinking and logic, up-to-date science and technology, civic education and democratic participation, financial and entrepreneurial education, foreign languages (at least 2), Romanian history and culture in the European context.
• Reducing redundant subjects and passive learning based on facts. Increased project-based learning, hands-on workshops, and internships.
• Digital curriculum: computer programming from elementary school (like Estonia, a leading country in digital education). Mandatory AI and media literacy from middle school.

Measure 2.5.2 — Territorial equity

• National School Connectivity Plan: Every school will have a reliable internet connection within two years. Tablets/laptops will be provided to every student in families below the income threshold.
• School buses guaranteed for every rural municipality — eliminating dropouts due to inability to get to school.
• Free school meals in primary schools: proven to be one of the most effective investments in reducing early leaving and improving learning outcomes (evidence from dozens of countries).
• Teachers in rural areas: An incentive system comparable to the health system—a 40% salary bonus, free housing, and accelerated career advancement for those teaching in disadvantaged areas.

Measure 2.5.3 — University and research

• National university ranking based on graduates' three- and five-year employment outcomes—not just formal criteria. Public funding partially tracks performance.
• Real university autonomy: reducing political interference in academic appointments. International competitions for top positions in public universities.
• Romanian Research Fund: 0.5% of GDP allocated to applied research, focusing on national priorities (agri-food, energy, medicine, digital). Business-university co-financing is mandatory for larger funds.
• Diploma recognition: Bilateral agreements for the recognition of Romanian qualifications in the EU — facilitating professional mobility without requiring permanent emigration.

2.6 INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN — CONNECTED ROMANIA

Central Objective

To complete in 15 years the basic physical infrastructure that Romania should have built in the thirty years after communism, with method, transparency, and constant civic oversight.

Measure 2.6.1 — Highway Plan 2026-2035

Goal: 3,000 km of motorways completed by 2035 (up from approximately 950 km currently). Priorities:

• Moldova Highway (A7): Completely completed from Bucharest to Iași to the Moldovan border. This is the most urgent route for the development of eastern Romania and for logistics to Moldova and Ukraine.
• Unirii Motorway (A8): Târgu Mureș-Iași connection, which crosses Romania from west to east in the center of the country.
• Completion of the Transylvanian ring road (A3): closure of the Bucharest-Cluj-Oradea-Hungarian border connection with all missing connections.
• Modernization of the A1 (Bucharest-Pitești-Sibiu-Timișoara): the west-east spine.
• Method: European procurement with independent monitoring. Monthly publication of project progress. Automatic penalties for unjustified delays. Permanent exclusion of contractors who violate contracts.

Measure 2.6.2 — Modern Railway

• Bucharest-Cluj High-Speed Rail Corridor: €8-10 billion investment over 12 years. Travel time reduced from 8 hours to 2.5 hours. Significant territorial rebalancing effect.
• Modernization of all main lines: average speed at least 120 km/h by 2030 (from around 60-70 km/h currently in many sections).
• Light rail for medium-sized cities: Cluj, Timișoara, Iași, Brașov must have sustainable urban transport systems that are competitive with the private car.

Measure 2.6.3 — Water, sewerage, gas in rural areas

• National Water and Sewerage Plan 2030: Connect 90% of the rural population to aqueducts and sewerage systems. Funding: Primarily European Structural and Cohesion Funds.
• Natural gas or alternative sources (heat pumps, solar thermal) for heating in rural areas not yet served.
• Rural internet: 5G or fiber optic coverage across 95% of the country by 2030. Public-private partnership with universal service obligation.

2.7 AGRICULTURAL REFORM AND FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

Central Objective

Enhance Romania's agricultural heritage through voluntary land consolidation, the development of integrated supply chains, the protection of food sovereignty, and integrated rural development.

Measure 2.7.1 — Cooperative land consolidation

• Tax incentives for the voluntary creation of agricultural cooperatives of at least 50 hectares. Cooperatives exceeding 200 hectares receive priority access to European funds.
• State Purchase Fund: The State purchases unsold or abandoned agricultural land, aggregates it, and assigns it on long-term lease (30 years) to young farmers' cooperatives.
• There is a complete ban on the sale of agricultural land to non-Romanian legal entities or individuals not resident in Romania. Lease agreements to foreigners cannot exceed 10 years.

Measure 2.7.2 — Integrated agri-food supply chains

• National Food Processing Plan: incentives for the construction of processing and transformation facilities in each region. Goal: to process at least 40% of grain and fruit and vegetable production locally by 2035.
• Certified marks of origin: development and international promotion of typical Romanian products (wine, cheese, meat, honey, nuts). Based on the French and Italian models of PGI/PDO products.
• National cold chain: investment in cold storage infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses (currently very high).

Measure 2.7.3 — Restoration of irrigation

• Irrigation system restoration and modernization plan in the regions of Wallachia, Dobrogea, and Southern Moldova: investment of EUR 2-3 billion over 10 years.
• Drip and low-pressure irrigation systems—modern technology, not a rehash of communist sprinkler systems. Water efficiency comes first.
• International Danube Water Agreements: Negotiations to Ensure Adequate Water Volumes for Irrigation in the Context of Climate Change.

2.8 SOCIAL POLICY AND THE FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY

Central Objective

Eliminate extreme poverty, reduce relative poverty below the European average, and build a modern welfare system that protects citizens in times of difficulty without creating permanent dependency.

Social diagnosis

Romania has one of the highest rates of at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion in the EU (approximately 34% in 2023, compared to an EU average of 21%). This is unacceptable in an EU member state for nearly 20 years. The causes are structural: low wages, a fragmented and often ineffective social protection system, rural areas excluded from development, and minorities (especially Roma) systematically excluded.

Measure 2.8.1 — Guaranteed Minimum Income

• Introduction of a universal Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) for all Romanian adult residents below a defined income threshold. Amount: RON 600/month for a single adult, with scales for family units.
• The RMG is conditional on participation in training programs or active job search for those of working age and without disabilities. It is not a permanent passive benefit.
• Funding: partly from savings from the fight against tax evasion, partly from the reorganization of existing fragmented subsidies (which are costly and ineffective).

Measure 2.8.2 — Integrated plan against child poverty

• Free school meals for all children in primary schools, regardless of family income (simplifying universalism).
• Early Childhood Program: Public educational assistance for children aged 0-3 in high-poverty areas. Reducing the cognitive development gap that develops in the earliest years.
• Vouchers for school books and educational materials for all families below the poverty line.
• Community social workers: one for every 500 families in high-poverty areas, with real skills and a mandate to intervene early.

Measure 2.8.3 — Inclusion of communities in Rome

The Roma community in Romania (estimated at 500,000–1.5 million people) is the most marginalized minority and the one most affected by systemic institutional failure. Any serious program must explicitly address it.

• Inclusion plans tailored to specific communities—not one-size-fits-all solutions. Community involvement in the design process.
• Guaranteed access to identity documents: Thousands of people still lack birth certificates or documents — unable to access any formal services or rights.
• Decent social housing programs in urban areas: an alternative to slums without access to services.
• Cultural mediators in schools, hospitals, and public offices.
• Zero tolerance for institutional discrimination: reporting, sanctioning, and public monitoring mechanisms.

2.9 PLAN TO RETAIN EMIGRANTS AND ATTRACT NEW ONES

Central Objective

Emigration cannot be stopped with walls or rhetoric. It can be reduced and reversed, making Romania a country worth staying or returning to. This requires concrete measures in every area of the program, as well as specific initiatives.

Measure 2.9.1 — 'Returns' Program

• Seven-year tax incentives for those returning after at least three years of residence abroad: 50% income tax exemption, priority access to entrepreneurship funding, and full recognition of qualifications acquired abroad.
• One-stop digital service for Diaspora Romania: bureaucratic, employment, and information support for those wishing to return. Staffed by professionals with experience of emigration and repatriation.
• Repatriation program for doctors and nurses: customized offer—guaranteed job, agreed-upon salary, family support, initial housing.

Measure 2.9.2 — Romania attractive for European citizens

• Maximum simplification of residency for EU citizens who want to work or invest in Romania.
• 'Digital Nomads Romania' program: a special visa for non-EU digital workers, with minimal bureaucratic requirements. Model: Estonia, Portugal, Croatia.
• Special economic zones in university cities: incentives for startups, competitive cost of living compared to Western Europe as an explicit competitive advantage.

2.10 ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND CLIMATE TRANSITION

Central Objective

Position Romania as a leader in the energy transition in Eastern Europe, leveraging its exceptional renewable resources, and build a green economy that is also fairer and less dependent on foreign sources.

Measure 2.10.1 — Renewable Energy Plan 2035

• Target: 60% of electricity production from renewable sources by 2035 (from around 45% currently, with increases).
• Offshore Wind in the Black Sea: Romania has enormous offshore wind potential. A national plan is underway for 3 GW of capacity by 2035, with component production in Romania.
• Solar: Incentive plan for residential and commercial solar installations. Every newly constructed or renovated public building is required to have solar panels.
• Green hydrogen: Romania can become a producer and exporter of green hydrogen to Central Europe. Investments in electrolysis to harness excess renewable electricity during peak hours.
• Nuclear: The SMR (Small Modular Reactor) project with Nuclearelectrica is a strategic priority. Nuclear energy ensures grid stability, which is essential for balancing renewables.

Measure 2.10.2 — Energy efficiency and building redevelopment

• National redevelopment plan for public and private buildings: 50% financing for insulation, heating system replacement, and renewable energy installation. It creates skilled local jobs and reduces household energy bills.
• Mandatory energy standards for new buildings: Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEBs) as a minimum standard from 2027.

Measure 2.10.3 — Environmental quality and land management

• National Forestry Plan: Romania has lost a significant percentage of its forest cover due to illegal logging. A 15-year reforestation plan is underway for 1 million hectares. Satellite monitoring of all logging operations is in place, with automatic criminal penalties for illegal logging.
• Air quality: Romanian cities (especially Bucharest) have serious air pollution problems. Plans are underway to reduce private traffic, transition to electric public transport, and switch to gas heating instead of wood and coal in urban areas.
• Waste management: Romania has one of the lowest recycling rates in the EU. Infrastructure plan (separate waste collection, treatment plants) and civic education. Target: 50% recycling by 2030 (from approximately 14% currently).

 

PART III — IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

3.1 TIME PHASES OF THE PROGRAM

PHASE 1 — FOUNDATIONS (Years 1-2)

Urgent anti-corruption reforms and public monitoring system.

Launch of mandatory electronic invoicing and fight against tax evasion.

Hiring and incentive plan for doctors and teachers in shortage areas.

Infrastructure procurement procedures launched with new transparency rules.

Introduction of the digital participatory democracy platform.

Emergency plan for families in extreme poverty.

PHASE 2 — CONSTRUCTION (Years 3-5)

Tax reform fully operational.

Start of construction of regional hospitals (5 first construction sites).

Highway plan: construction sites open on all priority corridors.

School curriculum reform fully implemented.

Agri-food supply chains: first 50 processing plants operational.

Target deficit: 5% of GDP.

PHASE 3 — CONSOLIDATION (Years 6-10)

Return within the Maastricht parameters (deficit < 3%).

2,000 km of new highways completed.

Healthcare system: standard comparable to the EU average.

Net emigration rate reversed: initial return flows stable.

Romania recognizable as a model of reform in Eastern Europe.

3.2 SOURCES OF FUNDING

Source	Estimate (billion EUR, 10 years)
EU funds not yet absorbed (structural, NRRP)	25-30 billion
Recovery from tax evasion (conservative estimate)	15-20 billion
Reduction of unproductive public spending	5-8 billion
Public-private partnerships for infrastructure	10-15 billion
Romanian Sovereign Fund (investments)	5 billion
International Green and Social Bonds	3-5 billion
ESTIMATED TOTAL	EUR 63-83 billion in 10 years

Methodological note: These estimates are conservative and based on benchmarks for comparable countries that have implemented similar reforms. Absorbing existing European funds is the top priority—there's no point in increasing debt if the resources already allocated are used.

3.3 KPIs

KPI	10-year target
GDP per capita (PPP)	From 72% to 90% of the EU average
Fiscal deficit	From 8% to below 3% of GDP
CPI Corruption	From 63rd place to top 40 worldwide
Km of highways	From 950 to 3,000+
Life expectancy	From 75 to 78 years old
School dropout rate	From 15% to below 8%
Net emigration	From negative to neutral or positive
% waste recycling	From 14% to 50%
Installed renewable capacity	Increase of 10 GW
Absorption of EU funds	From ~40% to over 80%

3.4 PERMANENT CIVIC CONTROL SYSTEM

Any reform left unchecked becomes prey to the system it seeks to reform. DirectDemocracyS introduces a permanent system of civic oversight that is an integral part of the program—not a decorative addition.

• National Public Dashboard: An online platform (open source, verifiable) with all program progress indicators, updated monthly. Every citizen can monitor in real time.
• Regional Civic Committees: In each region, 21 citizens chosen by lot (as with popular juries) serve on Civic Control Committees with inspection and reporting powers. Their terms are 18 months, renewable once.
• Quarterly Parliamentary Report: The government submits to Parliament every quarter a detailed report on the program's progress, justifying any delays and providing a recovery plan.
• Annual international audit: A consortium of international experts (IMF, World Bank, independent academic experts) annually reviews progress and publishes a public report.

 

PART IV — WHY DIRECTDEMOCRACYS FOR ROMANIA

Traditional Romanian political programs have failed not because the ideas were necessarily flawed, but because the system within which they were implemented systematically undermined them. Corruption, institutional capture, the logic of short-term mandates that prioritize the next election over future generations—these mechanisms destroy the best programs.

DirectDemocracyS is not a traditional party. It is an alternative political system founded on principles structurally incompatible with corruption and power-grabbing.

4.1 DIRECTDEMOCRACYS' ANTI-CAPTCHA MECHANISMS

• Non-transferable collective ownership: Each DDS member owns a non-saleable, non-transferable, non-inheritable share of the organization. No single individual or group can purchase control of DDS. The ownership structure is mathematically distributed.
• Shared Leadership: Strategic decisions are not the prerogative of a single leader. They are the result of structured collective processes that aggregate the distributed intelligence of members. A single corrupt leader cannot compromise the entire system.
• Fractal Micro-Group Structure: The micro-group structure (1→5→25→125→625) ensures that control always remains local. The base is never overwhelmed by the top: it is the base that delegates, not the top that commands the bottom.
• Three-way identity verification: The three-way verification system ensures that each member is a real and unique person. No double voting, no infiltration of fake identities, no distortion of collective voting.
• AI Integration as a Control Tool: The allddsAI system integrates AI instances as members with specific rights and duties. AI doesn't decide—it analyzes, reports anomalies, verifies the logical consistency of decisions, and provides data and simulations. It's a tool against delusion, corruption, and demagoguery.
• Systematic role rotation: No one remains in positions of power for long. Mandatory rotation prevents the formation of consolidated personal networks that are the basis of corruption.

4.2 THE ADDED VALUE OF DDS IN THE ROMANIAN REALITY

Romania needs something it has never had: a structurally honest political system. Not honest because its leaders are morally superior (people are people, with their weaknesses), but honest because its structure makes dishonesty economically irrational and practically impossible.

DDS doesn't promise charismatic leaders who will save the country. It promises structures that work even when individuals fail. This is the difference between a robust system and a fragile one.

DDS'S DIRECT CONTRIBUTION TO THE ROMANIAN PROGRAM

NATIVE TRANSPARENCY: every decision made in the DDS system is recorded, verifiable, and public.

REAL PARTICIPATION: Citizens are not formally consulted and then ignored — they participate structurally in decisions.

MERIT AND COMPETENCE: Roles are assigned based on verified competence, not loyalty or purchase.

CONSISTENCY OVER TIME: DDS programs have a ten-year horizon, not an electoral one.

CAPTURE RESISTANCE: The fractal structure and distributed ownership make DDS impossible to buy or systematically infiltrate.

AI INTEGRATION: AI as a tool for analysis and control—not as a replacement for human intelligence but as a critical amplification.

 

CONCLUSIONS: THE ROMANIA WE WANT TO BUILD

Romania in 2036—if this program is implemented with consistency, determination, and the necessary civic oversight—will be a profoundly different country than that of 2026.

It will be a country where the children of Romanian doctors aren't forced to emigrate to have a dignified future. Where an entrepreneur can start a business without having to bribe anyone. Where a student from a village in Romanian Moldova has the same opportunities as a student in Bucharest. Where an elderly person from Banat receives the medical care they deserve without having to hand a doctor an envelope. Where the forests still exist and the rivers are clean.

It's not a utopia. It's the normal standard of living that dozens of other countries—many with fewer natural resources, less strategic geographic location, and a less young and educated population than Romania—have already achieved. Romania has everything it needs to succeed. It just lacks a political system commensurate with its capabilities.

DirectDemocracyS doesn't ask for blind trust. It asks you to evaluate the logic, coherence, and concreteness of this program. To compare it with what traditional parties have offered over thirty years. And to choose, with common sense and a sense of responsibility towards future generations.

DirectDemocracyS — www.directdemocracys.org

Logic. Common sense. Truth. Consistency. Mutual respect.