President Maia Sandu said on the show “Realitatea te privește” on RLIVE TV that salaries in some state institutions are too high and need to be lowered. She noted, however, that certain sectors face difficulties in attracting qualified specialists at lower pay levels.
Maia Sandu emphasized the need for targeted adjustments. She discussed the issue with members of the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) and requested an analysis to identify imbalances.
“I agree that some institutional salaries are exaggerated. Yes, a few positions require pay competitive with the private sector to attract excellent specialists. But those cases are rare. For others, we need fairness. I’m not suggesting everyone should earn 20,000 lei per month. I understand that independent regulatory institutions manage sectors worth billions, and their salaries must remain decent. Yet certain salaries need rebalancing — it is not fair to maintain such disparities. Honest people live on the salary they receive. I also discussed with PAS colleagues that we must analyze and correct these excessive salaries,” Maia Sandu said.
For context, in June 2025, Dumitru Budianschi, head of the National Financial Market Commission, stated that his monthly salary of 112,000 lei represented the legal minimum. In 2023, former Economy Minister Dumitru Alaiba argued that raising ministerial salaries to 50,000 lei was necessary, calling it an investment due to the responsibility ministers carry in their sectors.