Romania has a catastrophic budget, "the worst since 1990", which guarantees the country will go into recession, former prime minister and incumbent Liberal Party (PNL) leader Calin Popescu Tariceanu said in the Parliament on Tuesday, during debates on the 2009 state budget.

Calin Popescu Tariceanu's key points:

• What we are shown today is catastrophic, it is Romania's worst budget since 1990
• I told PM Emil Boc that the budget should focus on one target - either on investing in infrastructure or on creating jobs. Both cannot be done simultaneously, unfortunately.
• The money that PM Boc says was wasted was in fact spent in infrastructure and investments
• The Liberal government managed the largest agricultural production in 2008 mainly due to investments in modernization
• Romania has the lowst level of public debt in the EU
• Within months, this government will come and rectify the budget and this will be done by cutting spending
• It would not surprise me if the government drops the flat tax and increases taxes
• 17.8% higher incomes as compared to 2008 is a not realistic figure