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Bucharest Public Transport Unionists To Strike On May 31

18:27, 21 Mai 2010
Bucharest public transport authority RATB unionists will go on strike on May 31, in solidarity with other public servants, and threaten to halt activity indefinitely if the Government chooses to lower their salaries.

Romanian Ctrl Bker: Wage Cuts, The Lesser Of Two Evils

16:05, 21 Mai 2010
Romania’s worst case scenario would be to fail at cutting pensions and wages, seen as the lesser of two evils, and to need an increase in the value added tax level, an adviser to the local central bank’s governor said Friday.

Romanian Opposition Social Democrats Say Head Of State Responsible For Austerity Plan

14:42, 21 Mai 2010
Romania’s opposition Social Democratic Party head Victor Ponta on Friday said his party has nothing to say to the Government run by Prime Minister Emil Boc, stressing that the recently announced spending cut measures were not taken by the Government, but by President Traian Basescu.

Romanian Transporters To Go On Strike On May 31

14:07, 21 Mai 2010
Romanian transportation unionists will go on full-blown strike on May 31 and cancel all local and national shuttle services for the day, representatives of the Romanian federation of transport operators, or FORT, said Friday.

Romanian PM Says Special Pensions Will Be Cut Like Any Other Pension

14:04, 21 Mai 2010
Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc said Friday that pensions provided by special laws will not be an exception to the Government’s plan to slash public spending and will be cut along with the other social pensions.

Romanian Senator, Former Judge, Businessmen Indicted On Corruption Charges

13:28, 21 Mai 2010
Romanian social democrat senator Catalin Voicu, former judge Florin Costiniu and businessmen Costel Casuneanu and Marius Locic were indicted by anticorruption prosecutors on charges of influence peddling and fraud.

Romanian Referees, Football Financer, Businessman Indicted For Corruption

13:26, 21 Mai 2010
The sponsor of Romanian football team FC Arges, Cornel Penescu, the former general manager of SC PIC SA Pitesti, Liviu Facaleata, former referee Ionica Serea and football referee Marius Martis were indicted by anticorruption prosecutors on bribe-related charges.

Romanian PM Meets Employers Friday For Talks On IMF Letter Of Intent

11:08, 21 Mai 2010
Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc meets Friday with employers’ representatives for talks on Romania's letter of intent with the International Monetary Fund, people close to the matter told MEDIAFAX.

Romanian Railway Unionists Threaten To Halt All Trains Starting May 31

19:18, 20 Mai 2010
Employees of Romania’s state-owned railway transport company CFR will halt all trains as of May 31 and this action may be joined by employees of subway company Metrorex and of local public transport authorities.

Romanian Unionists To Lobby Against Adoption Of IMF Letter In Parliament

18:36, 20 Mai 2010
Romanian Cartel Alfa union federation leader Bogdan Hossu said Thursday, after talks at the Finance Ministry, that there is no hope of the cost-cutting measures included in the letter of intent with the IMF will be altered, adding unionists will lobby against the letter’s adoption in Parliament.

Romania PM Says Govt, Unions Fail To Reach Common Ground, Talks Will Continue

18:06, 20 Mai 2010
Officials of Romanian Finance and Labor Ministries will continue talks with unionists until next Wednesday when the Government is set to approve Romania's letter of intent with the International Monetary Fund, Prime Minister Emil Boc said Thursday at the end of talks with unionists.

Romanian Transports Ministry Needs RON3.16B For Transylvania Hwy

17:57, 20 Mai 2010
Romania’s Transports Ministry needs 3.16 billion lei (EUR1=RON4.1998) this year to continue work on the Transylvania Highway, but has only received RON700 million from the state budget and its debts to U.S. constructor Bechtel amounted to RON900 million in late-2009.

Romanian Liberals Set To Uphold Any Upcoming No-Confidence Motions

17:39, 20 Mai 2010
Romania’s opposition Liberal Party PNL will vote in favor of the social democrats’ planned no-confidence motion, regardless of whether or not it will take part in drafting the motion, and it will also uphold any upcoming motions, liberal Ludovic Orban said Thursday.

Romanian Parents To Picket Government HQ Wednesday, Parliament HQ on June 1

17:26, 20 Mai 2010
Romanian parents will picket the Government headquarters on May 26 and will stage protests in Iasi and Brasov displeased with the Executive’s plan to cut child-rearing and other social benefits granted to children, protesters’ representatives said in a press release Thursday.

Romania PM: Govt Can Either Pay Reduced Wages, Pensions Or Stop Paying Them As of Dec

15:58, 20 Mai 2010
Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc said Thursday, before a meeting with unionists for talks on the recently announced spending cut measures, that the Government has two alternatives, namely, either to pay reduced salaries and pensions or no longer pay them as of December 2010.

Romanian Govt Mulls Cutting 1,100 Jobs In Healthcare As Of August

15:46, 20 Mai 2010
Romania’s’ Government is considering cutting around 1,100 jobs out of some 7,870 jobs in public healthcare units under the authority of the Ministry of Health, as of August 1, according to a government document obtained by MEDIAFAX.

Romania Sets EUR100 Excise Tax On Fermented Drinks, EUR165 Tax On Intermediary Drinks

15:43, 20 Mai 2010
The Romanian Government decided to introduce an excise tax of EUR100/hectoliter per product for fermented drinks, other than beer and wine, such as cider and fruit-based fermented drinks.

Survey Shows Flat Prices Per Sqm Higher Than Villa Prices In S Bucharest

15:39, 20 Mai 2010
The price of villas, calculated per square meter, in the western part of Romania’s capital city Bucharest, is similar with the price of apartments in the same area, while apartments have grown more expensive than villas in the city's southern region, according to a survey of Imopedia.ro.

Number Of Foreign Visitors To Romania To Rise 18%, To 9.6M By 2014 – Study

15:35, 20 Mai 2010
The number of foreign tourists coming to Romania will rise 18% by 2014, to 9.6 million visitors, according to the estimates of market study firm Euromonitor International.

1/5 Of Romanian Household Loans Provided To State Employees

15:27, 20 Mai 2010
Romanian banks provided loans to employees in the public sector worth approximately 20 billion lei (EUR1=RON4.1998), amounting to one fifth of the total household lending, central bank data showed Thursday.

Romanian News Agency Mediafax To Award Best Short Film Prize At 2010 TIFF

14:53, 20 Mai 2010
Romanian news agency Mediafax will present the prize for best Romanian short film in the RoDays section of the Transylvanian International Film Festival (TIFF), set to take place between May 28 and June 6, says a press release issued by the news agency Thursday.

Romanian OMV Petrom To Invest EUR5M In Stations Rebranding

14:18, 20 Mai 2010
Romania's largest oil and gas company OMV Petrom (SNP.RO) will invest EUR5 million in the rebranding of its 124 PetromV filling stations, according to Rainer Schlang, board member responsible for marketing operations.

Romanian Union Leaders Meet Fin Min Thursday To Discuss Spending Cuts

12:48, 20 Mai 2010
Leaders of Romania’s large union federations meet Thursday with Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu to discuss spending cut measures included in Romania’s letter of intent with the International Monetary Fund.

Romania To Shut Down Duty-Free Shops Upon License Expiry

12:26, 20 Mai 2010
Romania’s Government will no longer grant licenses to duty-free shops and currently valid licenses are set to expire in five years from their release date, says the tax evasion draft issued Wednesday.

Oxford Economics Downgrades View On Romania’s 10 GDP Growth To -0.6%

11:47, 20 Mai 2010
Oxford Economics revised down its forecast on Romania's economic growth on 2010, predicting now a contraction of 0.6% from a previously seen growth of 0.9%, after the poor results in the first quarter.

Romania’s Govt Wants To Adopt IMF Letter Of Intent Next Week

21:15, 19 Mai 2010
Romania’s Government wants to adopt in its next week’s meeting the letter of intent to the loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund after negotiations with unions and employers, people close to the matter told MEDIAFAX Wednesday.

Individuals Crossing Romanian Border Without Declaring EUR10,000 To Face Prison – Draft

20:40, 19 Mai 2010
Individuals crossing the Romanian border without declaring amounts equal to or greater than EUR10,000 will be charged with a crime and imprisoned for two to seven years, according to the draft Government Emergency Ordinance aiming to fight tax evasion.

Romania To Limit Quantity Of Tobacco Products, Alcohol Sold In Duty-Free Shops

20:26, 19 Mai 2010
Romania’s Government will limit the quantity of tobacco products and alcohol that can be sold to individuals in duty-free shops in order to reduce tax evasion and increase budget revenues.

Romanian Govt Delays Payment Of Public Wage Rights Won In Court

19:13, 19 Mai 2010
Romania’s Government has decided to delay the payment of salary rights won in court by public sector employees until 2012-2014, in an attempt to prevent running an even higher budget deficit in 2010 and 2011, despite the High Council of Magistrates’ negative opinion of this decision.

Romania Mulls Reintroducing Excises On Luxury Products, Risks EC Sanctions

18:37, 19 Mai 2010
Romania’s Government plans to reintroduce excises on yachts, perfumes, hunting weapons, jewelry and other luxury products starting 2010, and the country risks to be sanctioned by the European Commission, as it breaches certain European norms.

Criminal Suit Filed Against Romanian Hospital

17:18, 19 Mai 2010
Niculae Gament Antoniu, the husband of Romanian operetta soloist Amelia Antoniu, filed on Wednesday a criminal complaint against the CF2 hospital, where his wife was being treated when she went into septic shock last month.

Romanian State Secretaries, State Representatives In Cos Compelled To Donate Benefits

16:53, 19 Mai 2010
Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc called on secretaries of state and state representatives in companies where the state is minority shareholder to donate all their benefits for a period of six months to a national solidarity fund.

Romanian Govt To Seek Confidence Vote In Parliament For Drastic Spending Cuts

16:15, 19 Mai 2010
Romania’s Government will seek a confidence vote in Parliament for the speedy adoption of the country’s planned spending cuts, Prime Minister Emil Boc said Wednesday during the Cabinet meeting.

About 85% Of Romanians In Urban Areas Have Bank Cards, 32% Make Card Payments Weekly – Poll

16:12, 19 Mai 2010
About 85% of Romanians living in urban areas have a bank card, but only 32% of them use it for payments at least once a week, while 16% of them make bank card payments at intervals bigger than three months, according to a poll conducted by the Romanian Association of Electronic Payments (APERO).

Romania Leu Exch Rate Falls To New 4-Mo Low At 4.1997 Vs Euro

14:52, 19 Mai 2010
Romania’s leu lost slightly against the euro in mid trade Wednesday, while the central bank’s reference rate retreated for the third day in a row to 4.1997, a new low since January 5.

Several Pension Fund Managers To Withdraw From Mkt If Pvt Pension Contributions Reduced – Assoc

14:43, 19 Mai 2010
Lowering Romanians’ contributions to mandatory private pension funds (Pillar II) might cause several fund administrators to withdraw from the market, as shareholders of pension administrators will not sustain a business without being certain they will recover investments in a reasonable period.

Romania Adopts Lustration Law

14:18, 19 Mai 2010
Romania’s Chamber of Deputies Wednesday adopted with 203 to 40 votes and 12 abstentions the country’s lustration law.

Lowering Pvt Pension Contributions Pushes System Into Bankruptcy – Association

13:17, 19 Mai 2010
Lowering Romanians’ contributions to mandatory private pension funds (Pillar II) means “willingly” pushing into bankruptcy both pension fund administrators and their five million private pension contributors, Crinu Andanut, head of private pension association APAPR, said Wednesday.

Romanian Ctrl Bker Warns Govt Plan Will Delay Switch To Private Pension System

13:17, 19 Mai 2010
Lowering Romanians’ contributions to mandatory private pension funds will slow down even more the country’s efforts to switch to a private pension system from a public one, said Wednesday Lucian Croitoru, adviser to the central bank governor.

Romania Central Bank 2009 Tax On Profit Exceeds EUR300M

13:05, 19 Mai 2010
Romanian central bank paid a tax on profit of over EUR300 million in 2009, equal to 80% of the total earnings, a central bank official said Wednesday.