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Romania ‘09 4Q GDP Sees 2nd Largest Decline In EU

12:51, 12 Feb. 2010
Romania posted the second biggest quarterly economic fall in the European Union in October to December last year, while the EU's gross domestic product inched up 0.1% on the quarter, official data showed Friday.

Romanian Development Min Wants 25,000 New Rural Homes Built For Doctors, Teachers, Priests

12:49, 12 Feb. 2010
The Romanian Regional Development and Tourism Ministry plans to build around 25,000 homes in several communes around the country for teachers, doctors, priests, engineers and specialists who want to work in rural areas, Minister Elena Udrea said in a press conference on Friday.

IMF Votes Feb 19 Whether To Disburse EUR2.3B To Romania

12:47, 12 Feb. 2010
The International Monetary Fund is to decide February 19 whether it will disburse Romania another EUR2.3 billion of a EUR13 billion two-year standby loan, according to the IMF executive board calendar.

Romanian Development Min Hopes To Introduce Energy Certification For Buildings Next Month

12:47, 12 Feb. 2010
Romania’s Development and Tourism minister Elena Udrea said Friday she hopes the government can implement mandatory energy certification for buildings in one month due to faster energy efficiency calculation procedures and an increasing number of energy auditors.

Romania Might Allow Housing Agency To Sell Homes Within State-Guaranteed Home Buying Program

12:46, 12 Feb. 2010
Romania’s Development and Tourism minister Elena Udrea said Friday she will propose amendments to the law regulating the country’s’ Housing Agency ANL to allow purchases of ANL-built homes with state-guaranteed loans.

Four Ski Slopes In C Romania Closed Over Avalanche Risk

12:11, 12 Feb. 2010
Four ski slopes in the central Romanian mountain resort Sinaia have been closed as of Friday because of high avalanche risks.

SW, NE Romania Under Weather Advisory For Snow, Rain, Blizzards

11:58, 12 Feb. 2010
Romanian weather authorities issued a code-yellow alert forecasting snowfall, rain and blizzards in 17 counties in the southwest and northeastern parts of the country, valid from Friday night to Saturday evening.

Romania FDI Halves To EUR4.89B In 2009

10:46, 12 Feb. 2010
Foreign direct investments, or FDI, in Romania fell 48.4% on the year to EUR4.89 billion in 2009, from EUR9.5 billion a year earlier, the central bank said Friday.

Romania ‘09 Adjusted Industrial Output Down 5.7% YY

10:22, 12 Feb. 2010
Romania's adjusted industrial production fell 5.7% on the year in 2009, driven mainly by declines in the mining and manufacturing industries, the statistics institute INS said Friday.

Romania’s GDP Falls 7.2% On Year In 2009, Country Still in Recession

10:10, 12 Feb. 2010
Romanian economy declined 7.2% on the year in real terms in 2009, following a larger-than-expected quarterly contraction in the fourth quarter of the year, a flash estimate of the National Statistics Institute, or INS, showed Friday.

Romania’s Jan CPI +1.68% On Month, +5.2% On Year

10:07, 12 Feb. 2010
Romania's consumer price index spiked by an unexpected 1.68% on the month in January, driven by higher tobacco and fuel prices, while the annual inflation widened to 5.2%, the National Statistics Institute said Friday.

Romanian Man Dies In Car Accident Caused By Czech Skiing Team

09:50, 12 Feb. 2010
A 54 year-old man from the central Romanian town of Miercurea Ciuc died Thursday in a car accident on national road 13A, near Harghita Bai, when his car was hit by the vehicle of the Czech delegation to the World Orientation Week.

Switzerland Offers Financial Aid Of EUR7M For Romania Healthcare System

21:16, 11 Feb. 2010
Switzerland will provide financial aid of EUR7 million to Romania in 2010 to help the country develop its emergency healthcare services.

Romanian President Upholds Simpler Access To Funds In European Council Meeting

20:57, 11 Feb. 2010
Romanian President Traian Basescu took part Thursday in Brussels in an informal session of the European Council on the topic of member states’ economic situation, and spoke about the need to simplify access to community funds, especially under unfavorable economic conditions.

Bucharest Appeals Court Issues First Life Sentence In A Pimping, Human Trafficking Case

18:43, 11 Feb. 2010
The Bucharest Court of Appeals has issued Thursday, for the first time, a life imprisonment sentence for two pimps who severely battered a young woman and dumped her body in a basement, where it was later found by police officers.

Southern Romania Among EU Regions With High Nitrate Level In Groundwater – EC Report

16:37, 11 Feb. 2010
Southern Romania is one of the areas in the European Union where groundwater contains a high concentration of nitrates, according to a report on the implementation of the Nitrates Directive, published Thursday by the European Commission.

The Cranberries To Play Bucharest On July 20

15:34, 11 Feb. 2010
Irish rock band The Cranberries will perform in capital city Bucharest on July 20 and the concert venue will be announced soon, promoters Events said Thursday.

Swiss Ringier Sells Two Romanian Papers To Local TV Network

15:25, 11 Feb. 2010
Ringier Romania, the local division of the Swiss publishing group, has sold daily Evenimentul Zilei and weekly business magazine Capital to the newly-created Editura Evenimentul si Capital, whose majority shareholder is businessman Bobby Paunescu.

Romania Govt Sets Home Purchasing Program Guarantee Budget At EUR700M This Year – Fin Min

15:17, 11 Feb. 2010
Romania’s government will assign a maximum of EUR700 million for its state-guaranteed home-buying program in 2010, down from EUR1 billion last year, Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu said Thursday.

FIFA World Cup Trophy To Arrive In Romania In April

14:57, 11 Feb. 2010
The FIFA World Cup Trophy will arrive in Romania for the first time, as part of a 225-day world tour organized by Coca-Cola in 86 states on five continents.

Romania Fin Min: Political Changes Justify Compensatory Payments To State Co Managers

14:56, 11 Feb. 2010
Romania’s Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu on Thursday said that theoretically, the managers of state-owned companies operating in the public sector should get compensatory payments only as a form of protection, when discharged from office after a new governing power takes helm.

Rain, Melting Snow Flood Romanian Capital

11:51, 11 Feb. 2010
After last week’s heavy snowfall and blizzards, Romania’s capital Bucharest is now facing flooding because of rain and the snow that is melting.

Bucharest Subway Co Metrorex Awards RON31.5M Cleaning Contract To Romprest

11:48, 11 Feb. 2010
Romanian state-owned subway company Metrorex awarded sanitation firm Romprest Integrated Services a 31.5 million lei (EUR1=RON4.1142) four-year contract, VAT excluded, to clean the subway’s public and technical spaces, as well as trains.

Romania’s Govt Declassifies Over 7,000 Secret Documents Regarding 1989 Revolution

09:41, 11 Feb. 2010
Romania’s Government decided during a meeting Wednesday to declassify several documents regarding the December 1989 anticommunist Revolution, and the documents will be published in the Official Journal, Government secretary general Daniela Andreescu told MEDIAFAX.

U.S Constructor Bechtel Won’t Give Up Layoffs, Keeps Only 300 Employees – Romanian Unionists

20:38, 10 Feb. 2010
U.S constructor Bechtel will not give up the layoff of the employees working on the Transylvania highway and will keep only 300 employees for the Campia-Turzii – Turda segment of the highway, Romanian unionists said Wednesday.

Romanian Economy Out Of Recession In Q4 2009 – Analysts

19:32, 10 Feb. 2010
Romanian gross domestic product is estimated to post a slight grow in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared with a quarter earlier, but the economy contracted by 6.6%-7% last year, analysts said Wednesday.

U.S. Antimissile Shield To Protect Romania, Not Aimed At Russia – Romanian Defense Min

18:33, 10 Feb. 2010
Romanian Defense Minister Gabriel Oprea said Wednesday, after hearings in parliament committees on the country’s participation in the U.S. ballistic missile defense system, that the antimissile shield will protect Romania, has a strictly defensive use and is not directed against Russia.

Greek Flights To Romania Cancelled Over Strike By Greek Air Traffic Controllers

14:13, 10 Feb. 2010
Four flights from Athens, Greece, to Romania’s international airport Otopeni and one flight from capital city Bucharest to Greek city Thessaloniki were suspended Wednesday because of a strike by Greek air traffic controllers, Otopeni official Mihaela Chiril told MEDIAFAX Wednesday.

Romania Raises Guarantee Cap For New Housing Purchases To EUR75,000

14:11, 10 Feb. 2010
The guarantee ceiling for Romania’s government housing program will be kept at EUR60,000 for already built homes but will be raised to EUR70,000 or EUR75,000 for new homes.

Around 75% Of Romanian Pharmacies Close To Bankruptcy – Cegedim

13:59, 10 Feb. 2010
Around 75% of Romanian pharmacies are on the brink of bankruptcy, having stretched themselves too thin by continuing to provide discounted and free medicine, according to Petru Craciun, director of market analysis firm Cegedim.

Romania To Ready In Feb Draft Law Introducing Healthcare Co-Payment – Health Minister

13:11, 10 Feb. 2010
Romania’s Health Ministry will complete this month an IMF-required normative act introducing a co-payment system for public healthcare services, minister Cseke Attila said Wednesday, adding the law should have been completed by December 2009.

Romanian Govt OKs Pension Reform

12:57, 10 Feb. 2010
Romania’s Government Wednesday approved the draft law reforming the country’s public pension system and the act will be sent to Parliament for urgent debates and approval, people close to the matter told MEDIAFAX.

Romanian Public Sector Workers Threaten Full-Blown Strike For May Over Layoffs, Wage Cuts

12:50, 10 Feb. 2010
Nearly half a million Romanian public sector workers threaten to go on a full-blown strike in May because of planned layoffs and wage cuts, a union leader told a news conference Wednesday.

Romania Registers 121 Deaths, 6,986 AH1N1 Infections

10:41, 10 Feb. 2010
Romania registers 121 fatalities and 6,986 infections with the AH1N1 flu virus, as one person died and four others tested positive for the virus over the past 24 hours, the Health ministry said Wednesday.

Romanian Carmaker Dacia 2009 Profit At RON230.28M – Unaudited Results

10:40, 10 Feb. 2010
Romanian carmaker Automobile Dacia, the local unit of France’s Renault, turned a profit of 230.28 million lei (EUR1=RON4.1298) in 2009, up 3.7% compared to 2008, according to data the carmaker published in a merger draft with Auto Chassis International Romania.

Romania Bans Sale, Distribution Of Hallucinogenic Plants

10:01, 10 Feb. 2010
The Romanian Government on Wednesday adopted an emergency decree banning the distribution and sale of 36 plants and hallucinogenic substances.

Armed Robbery At Sports Betting Shop In SE Romania

09:29, 10 Feb. 2010
Two masked individuals broke into a sports betting house Tuesday night, in Mangalia, southeastern Romania, and managed to scoop up 7,000 lei (EUR1=RON4.1298) while holding the cashier at gunpoint.

U.S. Missile Shield Costs In Romania To Be Covered By U.S. – Romanian Foreign Affairs Min

19:37, 09 Feb. 2010
Romania will not have to buy SM-3 interceptor missiles and it will not pay for the setting up or layout of the location for the missiles on Romanian soil, according to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

French Carmaker Renault To Produce Romanian Models Logan, Sandero In Algeria

19:24, 09 Feb. 2010
French carmaker Renault will announce its intention to construct a car plant in Algeria, one of the main export markets for Romanian carmaker Dacia owned by Renault, and the car plant will manufacture models Logan, Sandero and Symbol, according to French daily LeMonde.

Romanian Politician Nati Meir Indicted On Fraud Charges

17:04, 09 Feb. 2010
Romanian anticorruption prosecutors have indicted former Romanian deputy Nati Meir on charges of defrauding eight people by paying them with fake banknotes in exchange for various services ahead of his campaign for the presidential elections in November 2009.