This measure is not directed against individuals, but is a logical consequence of the aspiration for more effective management of the human capital and financial resources of the state.
The recommendations of the Fiscal Council for 2026 step on a serious diagnosis. The budget deficit is not just a figure, but a sign of a deep-rooted structural problem. With spending reaching a record 41.7% of GDP and interest on the national debt rising nearly 76% in a year, the administration can no longer function on the old model. Reform is not a matter of choice, but of fiscal hygiene. Especially when the sector is saddled with automatic wage increases that outpace labor productivity.
The Fiscal Council’s arguments are based on the need for fiscal discipline and rethinking staff costs, which are reaching record levels and creating pro-inflationary pressures. In the current situation, the state cannot afford to maintain staff numbers that do not contribute to increasing the quality of services or to the implementation of new, digital work methods.
The release of pensionable personnel is a mechanism for releasing capacity that is currently blocked. The administrative environment often suffers from stagnation, precisely because key positions are occupied by people whose career path is coming to an end, which hinders the adaptation of institutions to modern technological and management requirements.
This puts on the agenda the question of whether young specialists have a real chance for realization in the state administration. It is obvious that as long as the hierarchy remains static and closed, the career path for young professionals remains severely limited. Young people who possess the necessary digital skills, knowledge of modern work processes and a desire for transparency often face an impenetrable wall of outdated practices and a lack of perspective. When the leading argument for decision-making is “this is how we have always done it”, the innovative potential of the new generation is neglected, which leads to a permanent technological backwardness of the entire administrative apparatus.
The recommendation of the Fiscal Council to close the vacant positions and release the employees who have reached the retirement age can become a catalyst for the necessary change. This approach would open the doors to the introduction of competitive principles that focus on real competences and not on seniority, and would allow the state to redistribute the freed financial resource to attract highly qualified staff with competitive remuneration. Any modern administration must be open to renewal in order to remain relevant and useful to citizens.
The state machine should not be used as a form of social enterprise for employment, but as an effective mechanism serving society.
