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Romania’s Prognosis Comm Revises Dn ‘09 GDP Growth To -7.7%

11:30, 25 Sept. 2009
Romania’s National Prognosis Committee CNP revised down its forecast on the country’s economic growth for 2009 to minus 7.7%, from minus 4% it estimated in spring.

Romania Ups Local Taxes, Fees By 20% In 2010 In Ratio With Last Three Yrs’ Inflation Rate

11:22, 25 Sept. 2009
The Romanian Government decided to increase local taxes and fees by some 20%, as of 2010, in ratio with the inflation rate over the past three years.

Romanian Magistrates, Politicians Sign Principles Of Pact On Justice

18:47, 24 Sept. 2009
The representatives of the Romanian magistrates and politicians except the Ministry of Justice and the Democratic Liberal Party signed on Thursday the principles of the Pact on Justice, after several amendments were included.

Romanian Democrat Liberals, Justice Ministry Refuse To Sign Pact On Justice

17:03, 24 Sept. 2009
Representatives of the Romanian Ministry of Justice and of the ruling coalition Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) announced Thursday, within a meeting organized at the initiative of several NGOs, that they will not sign a Pact on Justice.

Romanian Healthcare Staff Sets Up 10,000-Strong Rally After Oct 20

16:59, 24 Sept. 2009
The leaders of Romanian healthcare union Sanitas will organize, after October 20, a rally expected to gather over 10,000 people, followed by a strike throughout the healthcare system, if health minister Ion Bazac does not keep his promise to provide employee wage funds until the end of the year.

Romania ’10 Budget Gap Seen At 5.9% Of GDP – Fin Min

16:51, 24 Sept. 2009
Romania’s 2010 budget will be drafted around a deficit envisaged at 5.9% of the gross domestic product, Finance Minister Gheorghe Pogea said Thursday.

Romanian MPs End Talks On Ctrl Bk’s Board, Liberals Decline To Sign

16:34, 24 Sept. 2009
Romanian democrat liberals Thursday said negotiations regarding the future membership of the central bank’s Board have ended, but the Liberal Party has declined to sign the agreement.

Romanian President Calls For Referendum On Single-Chamber Parliament

16:12, 24 Sept. 2009
Romanian President Traian Basescu on Thursday called for a referendum on the introduction of a single-chamber Parliament and a maximum 300 lawmakers, which should be held on November 22, along with presidential elections.

Romanian Parliament Rejects Opposition’s No-Confidence Motion

14:32, 24 Sept. 2009
Romanian lawmakers on Thursday rejected a no-confidence motion initiated by opposition liberals and the Hungarian minority party, as only 112 votes backed the motion, which needed 236 votes to pass.

Romanian “First Home” Program Sparked Old Flat Price Hikes – Agency

14:21, 24 Sept. 2009
The prices set by old apartment owners in Bucharest grew in the past several months, especially for studios and two-room apartments, due to the introduction of the “First Home” program, and this evolution could continue because of the low supply, according to real estate agency Real Time.

Romanian PM Says No-Confidence Motion Criticizes Oppositions’ Former Govt

11:46, 24 Sept. 2009
Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc said Thursday in Parliament, before a vote on a no-confidence motion submitted by the opposition, that the motion is in fact directed at the opposition’s own former government, which was incapable of drafting a public sector wage law.

Romanian Parliament To Set Up Commission Analyzing Justice Crisis

11:26, 24 Sept. 2009
The two chambers of Romania’s Parliament unanimously adopted on Thursday a decision to set up a commission that will analyze the crisis in the justice sector and social democrat lawmaker Florin Iordache will preside over the commission.

Romanian Parliament Votes On Opposition’s No-Confidence Motion Thursday

11:26, 24 Sept. 2009
The Romanian Parliament votes Thursday on a no-confidence motion submitted by liberals and the Hungarian minority party, in opposition, to bring down the coalition government of democrat liberals and social democrats over the adoption of a unitary pay law for the public sector.

Romania Might Have Automatic Collectors For Plastic Bottles By End ’09 – Environ Min

19:38, 23 Sept. 2009
Romanian Environment Minister Nicolae Nemirschi said Wednesday that Romania might introduce by the end of the year automatic collectors for recyclable plastic bottles, so that anyone who returns a plastic bottle would get a shopping voucher in exchange.

Romanian SMEs Min Drafts Holdings Legislation

16:28, 23 Sept. 2009
Romania's Ministry for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises drafted a bill on holding companies, intending to bring in Romania the holdings with Romanian capital registered offshore.

Bucharest Mayor Unhappy With Historical Center Rehabilitation, Considers Subcontractors

16:07, 23 Sept. 2009
Bucharest general mayor Sorin Oprescu visited Wednesday the Romanian capital’s historical center together with a team of architects and experts who worked on the rehabilitation of the central Romanian city of Sibiu, in view of subcontracting works in Bucharest.

Romanian Public Sector Staff Given Choice Between Cash Or Card At Wage Collection

15:49, 23 Sept. 2009
Romanian public sector employees will have the possibility to choose between receiving their wages on a bank card or cash, based on a draft law approved Wednesday by the Government and sent to Parliament with urgency.

Romanian State Pensions, A Ticking Time Bomb – Pvt Pension Association

15:36, 23 Sept. 2009
Contributions to Romania’s mandatory private pension system (Pillar II) should be at 3% of the gross wage in 2010, as set in the initial calendar, because the state pension system is “a ticking time bomb”, said Wednesday, Crinu Andanut, head of the Association for Private Pensions in Romania.

Azeri Socar Seeks JV With Romanian Energy Cos, Eyes Gas Supply For Nabucco

14:06, 23 Sept. 2009
Azeri state oil company Socar aims to supply natural gas for Nabucco gas pipeline and may partner up with Romanian oil and gas companies in hydrocarbon storage and transport projects.

Romanian SMEs Ministry Designs “Starter Firm” Law For Youths

13:48, 23 Sept. 2009
Romanian youths aged up to 35, who have never owned a company, will be able to set up a firm with a share capital of 10 lei (EUR1=RON4.2293) and which will be exempt from profit and wage taxes in the first three years, according to an initiative of the Ministry for SMEs.

Romania’s Petrom Gains Top Spot Among Biggest SEE Companies

13:42, 23 Sept. 2009
Romania’s largest oil company Petrom (SNP.RO) ranks first in a top comprising 100 biggest non-banking companies in Southeastern Europe by 2008 total revenues, compiled by business information portal SeeNews in partnership with consultancy firm Roland Berger.

Romania Faces Unprecedented Institutional, Social Crisis – Transparency International

13:40, 23 Sept. 2009
Romania faces an unprecedented institutional and social crisis, being affected by decisions that perturb the system and contribute to public sector’s vulnerability to corruption, Victor Alistar, head of Transparency International Romania, said Wednesday.

Prosecutors Indict People Who Allegedly Stole Steaua Owner’s Car

13:35, 23 Sept. 2009
Bucharest prosecutors indicted Wednesday three men who allegedly stole in January the car of Steaua Bucharest owner Gigi Becali, and for whose kidnapping Becali spent nearly three weeks in jail in April this year.

Romania To Resume Growth With 1-Yr Delay – Ctrl Bkr

13:10, 23 Sept. 2009
The great financial meltdown has hit Romania with a delay of one year, one year and a half and so the country is bound to experience a lag in recovery of eight to 12 months compared with the more developed economies, a central bank official said Wednesday.

Romania, IMF Highlight 10 Public Companies For Monitoring

12:53, 23 Sept. 2009
Romania's Government and the International Monetary Fund drafted a list of ten state-owned companies subject to economic performance monitoring in order to reduce the volume of subsidies, according to the additional letter of intent to the EUR12.95 billion stand-by loan signed with the Fund.

SE Romania Airport Staff On Go-Slow Strike Over Labor Contract Breach

12:27, 23 Sept. 2009
Nearly 200 employees with international airport Mihail Kogalniceanu in Constanta, southeastern Romania, went on a go-slow strike Wednesday morning, for an indefinite period, displeased that the company’s management failed to observe the collective labor contract.

EBRD Lends EUR25M To Raiffesen Bank Romania

12:17, 23 Sept. 2009
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on Wednesday said it will lend EUR25 million to Raiffeisen Bank Romania as part of a broader package worth EUR150 million to support Austrian group’s subsidiaries in the Eastern Europe.

Romanian Justice Minister Reinvests Codruta Kovesi As Prosecutor General

11:45, 23 Sept. 2009
Romanian Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu signed the proposition reinvesting Laura Codruta Kovesi prosecutor general with the General Prosecution Office, the country’s Justice Ministry said in a press release Wednesday.

Rasnov Castle Closed To Visitors After Balcony Crash

10:47, 23 Sept. 2009
The medieval castle in Rasnov, central Romania, was closed to visitors after a balcony and the entire wall to which it was attached collapsed Tuesday evening without producing casualties.

Govt Ordinance On Additional Letter Of Intent With IMF Published In Official Gazette

10:21, 23 Sept. 2009
The Government Emergency Ordinance on approving the additional letter of intent to the EUR12.95 billion stand-by loan signed by Romanian and the International Monetary Fund was published Wednesday in the Official Gazette, thus enabling IMF to grant the second tranche of the loan.

Romanian Lawmaker Reads Made-Up Speech In Parliament, Lawmakers Applaud -Paper

10:01, 23 Sept. 2009
Romanian liberal lawmaker Adriana Saftoiu tested her colleagues’ attention Tuesday and read a made-up political statement, which consisted of unrelated quotes pasted together, and met with applause at the end of the speech, Romanian daily Gandul reported Wednesday.

Tramcar Derails In Romanian Capital, No Victims

09:57, 23 Sept. 2009
A tramcar ran off the rails Wednesday morning in Romania's capital city Bucharest at the Progresul-Calea Rahovei juncture and authorities said there were no victims.

Dinu Patriciu, Georgian Ex-PM Buy 91% Stake In Georgian Bk For $15M

19:58, 22 Sept. 2009
Romanian businessman Dinu Patriciu and Georgia’s former premier Lado Gurgenidze have acquired control over the People's Bank of Georgia (PBG), after purchasing 91% of the lender’s shares in a deal reported at $15 million.

Romania’s Pension Sys Needs Sound, Though Painful Principles – PM

19:09, 22 Sept. 2009
Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc said Tuesday at the presidential palace that the public pension system law promoted by the government will be based on sound, “although painful” principles.

Romania To Get 2nd Tranche From IMF Very Soon – PM

17:48, 22 Sept. 2009
Romania will receive a second tranche from the International Monetary Fund loan very shortly and it will use half of the EUR1.85 billion to finance the budget deficit, Prime Minister Emil Boc said Tuesday.

Railway Unionists Call For Romanian Transp Min Resignation

16:58, 22 Sept. 2009
Railway unionists threaten to go on strike and are asking for the resignation of Romanian Transport Minister Radu Berceanu, subsecretary of state Constantin Axinia and of the heads of railway units over the situation and the lack of strategies in the sector.

Hollywood Actor Ethan Hawke Comes To Romania For Halloween Charity Ball

16:20, 22 Sept. 2009
Hollywood actor Ethan Hawke will return to Romania to attend the Halloween Charity Ball at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest on October 31, event organizers said Tuesday.

Romanian Presidential Committee Proposes Legal Prostitution, Clean Needle Programs

16:09, 22 Sept. 2009
Romanian Presidential Committee for the Analysis of Social and Demographic Risks proposes, in a report launched Tuesday, the disincrimination of drug consumption and the legalization of prostitution, claiming this would reduce, under certain conditions, several public health risks.

Romanian Prosecutors Launch Probe Into Main Suspect In Train Derailment Case

15:35, 22 Sept. 2009
The Prosecution Office with the Craiova Court of Appeals on Tuesday launched a criminal probe against a former railroad employee on suspicion of involvement in the railroad accident that occurred Monday morning near Carcea, in Romanian southern county of Dolj.

Farmer Threatens To Bring 1,250 Cows To Govt HQ, In Protest To Romania’s Lack Of Support

15:29, 22 Sept. 2009
A Romanian farmer warned Tuesday Agriculture Ministry officials, during the Mediafax Talks about Romanian Agriculture seminar, that he would bring his 1,250 cows to the headquarters of the government, ministry and presidential palace, upset that the state doesn’t support farmers.