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Romania Should Implement Structural Reforms To Boost Competitiveness – IMF

15:27, 11 Mai 2010
Romania’s economic competitiveness rose by 15% as a result of a more depreciated leu since the start of the recession, but authorities should undertake structural reforms to take advantage of the gain and further increase efficiency, according to Jeffrey Franks, the IMF’s mission chief for Romania.

IMF: Romania Had More Balanced Options To Tame Deficit

15:12, 11 Mai 2010
The International Monetary Fund recommended a series of “balanced” measures to lower Romania’s growing budget deficit, but the authorities in Bucharest decided to rely almost entirely on public spending cuts, IMF’s mission chief for Romania Jeffrey Franks said.

Orange Romania Set To Launch Cell Phone For Seniors

14:24, 11 Mai 2010
The Romanian branch of mobile services operator Orange will launch Thursday an easy-to-use phone designed for the elderly, with loud volume settings, large keys, vocal playback of numbers dialed, a quick caller list and an SOS key.

Romanian Parliament HQ Picketed By 100 Education Unionists

14:17, 11 Mai 2010
One hundred members of two Romanian education unions picketed Parliament headquarters Tuesday to express dissatisfaction with the salary cuts announced after IMF negotiations and with the draft education law.

Volcanic Ash Plume Exits Romanian Airspace Tuesday

13:58, 11 Mai 2010
The new ash plume from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjöll will exit Romanian airspace Tuesday, Romania’s Environment Ministry said, citing the latest forecast of the London Volcanic Ash Advisory.

Romania ‘Cash For Clunkers’ Program Doubles Car Registrations In April

13:54, 11 Mai 2010
Romanian new car registrations more than doubled to 8,875 units in April from 4,027 units a month earlier, boosted by the government-funded cash for clunkers program, the Automotive Manufacturers and Importers Association, or APIA, said Tuesday.

Romanian Farmers Picket Govt HQ Tuesday Calling For Subsidies, EU Funds

13:46, 11 Mai 2010
Over 1,200 Romanian farmers picket Tuesday for two hours the Government’s headquarters, calling for payment of overdue subsidies, lower excises on fuel used in farming and access to EU funds.

Romanian Termoelectrica To Be Stripped Of Assets – Econ Min

12:22, 11 Mai 2010
Romanian state-owned power producer Termoelectrica will go bankrupt once the “viable” assets are externalized, but the company’s debts to the state budget cannot be paid, Economy Minister Adriean Videanu said Tuesday.

Romania Slashes Child-Rearing Benefit From June 1 – PM Adviser

11:53, 11 Mai 2010
Romania’s Government will reduce child-rearing benefits starting June 1 and it will soon be decided whether the benefits will drop to a given percentage or a fixed sum, said Tuesday Andreea Paul-Vass, economic adviser to Prime Minister Emil Boc.

Romania Mulls Guaranteeing Homeowner Loans For Thermal Rehabilitation

11:45, 11 Mai 2010
Romania’s Development and Tourism Ministry will present a draft decision in the Cabinet meeting Wednesday whereby the state guarantees bank loans for homeowners’ associations for the thermal rehabilitation of apartment buildings, Minister Elena Udrea said Tuesday.

Romania Has 2,500 Projects Underway, Totaling EUR5.5B In EU Funds

11:17, 11 Mai 2010
Romania has approved 4,200 projects worth EUR9.7 billion to be funded with European money, of which 2,500 projects, worth EUR5.5 billion, have already been signed, Finance Ministry state secretary Bogdan Dragoi said Tuesday.

Romania’s April CPI + 0.35% On Mo, +4.28% On Yr

10:01, 11 Mai 2010
Romanian consumer prices rose 0.35% on the month in April driven by a pick up in non-food and service prices, while the annual inflation accelerated slightly to 4.28%, the country’s statistics institute INS said Tuesday.

Romanian Banks’ Contributions In Deposits Guarantee Fund To Hike As Of 2011

00:53, 11 Mai 2010
Romania’s deposits guarantee fund FGD will consolidate its funds through raising, as of 2011, the contributions of the participating banks and will progressively give up the stand-by credit lines, according to additional documents to the agreement sealed with the International Monetary Fund.

Romania Promises To Revive Privatization Program

00:37, 11 Mai 2010
Romania has pledged to "aggresively" resurrect the privatization program, especially in the industry, energy, transport, tourism or agriculture, as part of its efforts to raise budget revenue to meet the International Monetary Fund requirements.

EU Says Romania „Broadly” Meets Loan Terms

00:17, 11 Mai 2010
Romania has broadly met the policy conditions for a loan from the European Union, but still needs to take additional measures to narrow the budget deficit, the European Commission said Monday.

Romania Pledges Cos Under IMF Monitoring Will Cut Arrears By 2.5%

23:59, 10 Mai 2010
Romania’s Government pledged during negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission that each of the ten state-owned companies under monitoring will reduce arrears by 2.5% each quarter, starting with July-September period.

Romania’s Govt Promises IMF To Tax Drug Sellers’ Turnover

23:43, 10 Mai 2010
Romania’s government engages to introduce the tax per planned turnover for the drug distributors, according to the additional document that will be sent to the executive board of the International Monetary Fund, obtained Monday by MEDIAFAX.

Romanian Senate To Adopt Draft Pension Law Tacitly

21:47, 10 Mai 2010
Romania’s Senate Monday evening has canceled debates on the country’s draft pension law, due to lack of quorum, and the normative act will be adopted tacitly.

Romanian Authorities Pledge Not To Uphold Personal Insolvency Bill

20:39, 10 Mai 2010
Romanian authorities said they will not uphold certain draft laws, such as the draft personal insolvency law, in order to strengthen the country’s financial stability, according to the Memorandum of Understanding between Romania and the IMF and EU.

Romania’s Govt Pledges To Enforce Healthcare Co-Payments

20:20, 10 Mai 2010
Romania’s Government pledged that it will introduce the co-payment system for healthcare services and that exemptions from co-payment will not exceed a set cap, according to the country's agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission.

Romanian Cos’ Budget Debts Rise To RON18.7B End-March

19:41, 10 Mai 2010
Romanian companies’ debts to the consolidated budget rose 8.5% in the first quarter, at 18.69 billion lei (EUR1=RON4.1641), most of them being unpaid obligations to the state budget, according to additional letter of intent to the agreement sealed with the International Monetary Fund.

Romania’s Govt Pledges To Lay Off 70,000 Public Sector Employees In 2010

19:36, 10 Mai 2010
Romania’s Government pledged to reduce the number of public employees to 1.29 million this year by laying off about 70,000 employees in the public sector, according to the country’s additional letter of intent to the EUR13 billion standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

Romania To Limit 2011 Public Sector Wage Fund To RON39B

18:35, 10 Mai 2010
Romania will limit the public sector salary fund for next year to 39 billion lei (EUR1=RON4.1641) by reducing the number of employees in the public sector, according to the Memorandum of Understanding between Romania and the IMF and EU.

Romania’s Child-Rearing Benefit To Return To Fixed Rate – Sources

18:05, 10 Mai 2010
Romania’s child-rearing benefit, currently set at 85% of the parent’s average income for the previous year, might return to a fixed rate, said sources who took part in talks with President Traian Basescu Monday.

Romania Freezes Early Retirement, Limits Retirement For Incapacitated People

17:58, 10 Mai 2010
The Romanian Government will freeze early retirement starting June 1, 2010 until the country’s new pension law is enforced, and pensions for incapacitated people will be granted only if they were previously approved by Labor Ministry medical assessment teams.

Romania Scraps 13th Salary For Public Workers Amid Spending Cuts

17:39, 10 Mai 2010
Romania will not pay public sector employees a 13th monthly salary this year and the measure will be included in next year’s state budget, according to the Memorandum of Understanding between Romania and the IMF and EU.

Romania To Tax Food Vouchers, Bank Deposit Interests

17:32, 10 Mai 2010
Romania’s government will tax food vouchers, capital gains--including interests on bank deposits--and severance payments, and will eliminate tax exemptions for IT programmers.

Romania Is Better Off Than Certain Eurozone Countries – President

16:51, 10 Mai 2010
Romania is not among the most financially afflicted countries in Europe, said President Traian Basescu Monday, after a meeting with the parliamentary groups which endorse the current Cabinet.

Romanian Romgaz Asks For 5% Higher Gas Storage Tariffs

16:15, 10 Mai 2010
Romania’s largest gas producer Romgaz Medias asked the country’s energy regulatory authority ANRE to raise gas storage tariffs by around 5% for the 2010-2011 winter, the company’s deputy general manager Lucian Stancu said Monday.

Romanian Fin Min Mulls Solidarity Tax For State-Run Cos Amid Public Sector Wage Cuts

16:06, 10 Mai 2010
Employees in Romanian state-owned companies whose income exceeds a certain cap may be forced to pay a solidarity tax, Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu said Monday after a meeting with lawmakers of the ruling coalition.

Romanian Union Leader Announces Daily Protests, 40,000 To Rally On May 19

15:54, 10 Mai 2010
Romania’s Cartel Alfa union confederation head, Bogdan Hossu, said Monday that almost 1,000 people will protest daily outside the Government and the presidential palace in capital Bucharest and on May 19 there will be a 40,000-person rally in the city’s center.

Romanians To Receive 90 Million Text Messages From Companies In 2010 – Report

14:58, 10 Mai 2010
Romanian mobile phone users will receive 90 million informational and promotional text messages from companies in 2010, nearly 30% more on the year, said a report issued Monday by web2sms operator Netopia Sistem.

Fmr Romanian Envoy Blamed For Hit-And-Run Asked Witnesses To Change Testimonies– Court

14:44, 10 Mai 2010
A Bucharest court trying the case in which Romania’s former envoy to Singapore Silviu Ionescu is blamed for a hit-and-run accident that resulted in one fatality said Ionescu tried to get two witnesses testifying in the case to change their depositions.

Romanian Football Club Financer Under 24-Hour Arrest For Bribery

14:24, 10 Mai 2010
Cornel Penescu, financer of the Romanian football club FC Arges, was arrested for bribery Monday afternoon and will be detained for 24 hours at police headquarters in southern County Arges.

Romanian Liberals Will Not Endorse President’s Austerity Plan In Parliament – Party Head

13:55, 10 Mai 2010
Romanian opposition liberal leader Crin Antonescu said Monday that his party will not endorse President Basescu’s austerity plan in Parliament and that if the President wants to combat corruption and bureaucracy, he and Prime Minister Emil Boc should resign.

Romania Leu Rises Vs Euro, Exch Rate At 4.1641

13:22, 10 Mai 2010
Romania’s leu widened early gains against the euro in mid trade Monday and the central bank’s reference strengthened 0.5% on the day at 4.1641 units.

Romania To Ask IMF For New Waiver On Govt Arrears

12:20, 10 Mai 2010
Romania hasn’t met the first-quarter performance criteria in the sector of general government arrears and will ask the International Monetary Fund for a new waiver of non-observance, IMF mission head Jeffrey Franks said Monday.

IMF Could Reschedule 5th Loan Installment To Romania – Official

12:08, 10 Mai 2010
A delay in implementing Romania’s planned fiscal measures in the public sector could prompt the International Monetary Fund reschedule the release of a fifth loan installment to the country until the measures are in place, IMF mission head Jeffrey Franks said Monday.

Volcanic Ash Plume Over Western Romania, Air Space Stays Open

11:54, 10 Mai 2010
A new ash plume from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjöll has reached western Romania and will gradually move eastward, the country’s Environment Ministry said Monday, but the country won’t close its airspace according to the civil aviation authority.

Romania Jobless Rate Subject To Further Pressures In 2010 – IMF

11:39, 10 Mai 2010
Romania's unemployment rate is subject to further pressures over the next period, but the increase should be manageable because the jobless rate is still below EU average, the International Monetary Fund mission head said Monday.