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Romania’s Fin Min Urged To Exempt Disabled People From Paying Taxes On Salary, Pension

14:59, 26 Feb. 2010
Romania's National Authority for People with Disabilities (ANPH) Friday urged the Finance Ministry to amend a Government decision which applies taxes on the salaries and pensions of people with serious disabilities.

A 1.5% GDP Growth In 2010 Seen Healthy For Romania – BRD

14:28, 26 Feb. 2010
An economic growth of around 1.5% in 2010 would be a healthy recovery for Romania after last year’s steep correction, officials of Romania’s second largest lender BRD-Societe Generale said Friday.

Romania, Bulgaria Request More Time To Co-Finance EU-Funded Projects

14:27, 26 Feb. 2010
The Romanian and Bulgarian governments signed a declaration calling on the EU to extend the interval of eligible expenses related to projects co-financed through the IPSA program and Cohesion Fund to December 31, 2011.

Romania, Bulgaria Mull Scrapping Danube Bridge Tolls

13:54, 26 Feb. 2010
Romanian and Bulgarian officials are looking into the possibility of discarding tolls charged for the use of the Danube Bridge linking Giurgiu in Romania to Ruse in Bulgaria.

Romanian-Moldovan Small Border Traffic Agreement Effective As Of Friday – FM

12:56, 26 Feb. 2010
Romania’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the Agreement on Small-Scale Border Traffic between Romania and the Republic of Moldova comes into effect as of Friday, February 26.

Romania January Monthly Inflation Highest In EU

12:54, 26 Feb. 2010
Consumer prices in Romania rose 1.7% in January compared with the month earlier, the highest monthly rate in the European Union, official data showed Friday.

Romanian Fmr Social Democrats Mull Center-Left Party Setup

12:01, 26 Feb. 2010
Romania’s Defense Minister and leader of independent lawmakers Gabriel Oprea, a former social democrat, said Friday his friend, Marian Sarbu, who quit the social democrats earlier Friday, will have an important role in a future center-left party he pans to set up.

Former Romanian Labor Minister Sarbu Leaves Social Democratic Party

11:24, 26 Feb. 2010
Romanian social democrat and former labor minister Marian Sarbu announced Friday, after meeting with Social Democratic Party leader Victor Ponta, that he has left the party and will probably join the group of independent MPs.

Romania Feb-Apr Indus Stable; Constructions, Services Poised To Fall

10:04, 26 Feb. 2010
Romanian managers expect the industrial sector to be relatively stable in February through April, while the services, constructions and retail sectors are seen falling compared with the previous three months, official data showed Friday.

Austrian Erste 2009 Net Profit Falls 6% To EUR976.6M

09:35, 26 Feb. 2010
Austria's Erste Group Bank AG (EBS.RO) Friday reported a 6% decline in its full-year net profit to EUR976.6 million, from EUR1.038 million in 2009, on flat assets.

Romania’s Unirea Urziceni Misses Qualification In Europa League’s Last 16

09:21, 26 Feb. 2010
Romania’s Unirea Urziceni on Thursday missed qualification in the Europa League’s last 16 after losing 3-1 (2-1) at home to England's FC Liverpool in the Europa League’s last 32 return match.

Romania BCR 09 Net Pft At RON871.7M, Dn 43% YY

09:10, 26 Feb. 2010
Romania’s largest lender Banca Comerciala Romana, or BCR, on Friday reported a net profit after taxes and minority interests of 871.7 million lei (EUR206.3 million) for 2009, down 43% on the year, on higher provision expense and lower fee income due to falling consumer demand for loans.

Romania 2009 Public Debt Rises To 29.3% Of GDP

21:20, 25 Feb. 2010
Romania’s public debt rose to 29.29% of the gross domestic product in 2009 from 21.8% of GDP the year before, according to Finance Ministry data released Thursday.

Romanian Pvt Authority May Lay Off 150 People To Meet Budget Needs

21:15, 25 Feb. 2010
Romanian Privatization Authority AVAS may lay off 150 people, representing over one third of its staff, to meet the budget assigned for 2010, AVAS’s president Aurelian Popa told MEDIAFAX Thursday.

Romanian Magistrates Vote Livia Stanciu For Supreme Court President

17:59, 25 Feb. 2010
Romania’s High Council of Magistrates on Thursday voted judge Livia Doina Stanciu to be president of the country’s High Court of Justice, but the appointment is pending approval by President Traian Basescu.

Romanian PM Calls For Romanian Minority Representation In Hungarian Parliament

17:04, 25 Feb. 2010
The Romanian community in Hungary should be granted representation in Parliament, while instances of minorities being represented by people who do not even know that group’s language should be eliminated, Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc said.

Romanian Social Democrats Want Two-Chamber Parliament, Compulsory Voting

16:07, 25 Feb. 2010
Romania's leftist Social Democratic Party president Victor Ponta said Thursday he wants the country’s revised Constitution to provide for compulsory voting and a two-chamber Parliament.

Romania PM Pushes For High Speed Rail Line On Paris-Budapest-Constanta Route

14:54, 25 Feb. 2010
Romania’s Prime Minister Emil Boc said Thursday connections must be developed to extend the high speed rail line Paris-Strasbourg-Bratislava towards Budapest, capital city Bucharest and Constanta, on the Black Sea Coast, adding this investment project must become a priority of the Danube Strategy.

Aerosmith To Play Bucharest On June 18

14:40, 25 Feb. 2010
American rock band Aerosmith will play Bucharest on June 18, within the new Aerosmith European tour which starts on June 10 in Sweden, according to the band’s official website, www.aeroforceone.com.

New Law On Early Loan Repayment Fees To Increase Romanian Bank Competition – Watchdog

14:10, 25 Feb. 2010
Changing Romanian legislation on early loan repayment fees will lead to stiffer competition between banks, lower interest rates and restart lending, Competition Council president Bogdan Chiritoiu said on Thursday.

Romanians Spent 6% More On Consumer Goods In ’09, Switched To In-Home Consumption – Survey

14:04, 25 Feb. 2010
Price hikes prompted Romanians to spend nearly 6% more on consumer goods in 2009, compared with 2008, and switch to in-home consumption, which triggered higher sales of edible oil, beer and coffee, according to a survey by market research company GfK.

Romania OMV Petrom 4Q Net Loss Narrows To RON171M

09:41, 25 Feb. 2010
Romania’s largest oil company OMV Petrom (SNP.RO) Thursday reported a net loss of 171 million lei (EUR1=RON4.1269) in the fourth quarter, much lower than RON1.27 billion in the same period a year ago, on reduced revenue.

Romanian Ban On Pension-Wage Cumulus May Be Lifted On Jan 1, ‘11

19:42, 24 Feb. 2010
Romanian Labor Minister Mihai Seitan said Wednesday in the Senate labor committee that the ban on the pension – wage cumulus may be lifted on January 1, 2011, adding this measure “was not imposed forever”.

Romania PM Says Nabucco Gas Pipeline Project Viable

18:18, 24 Feb. 2010
Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc on Wednesday pleaded in favor of the Nabucco gas pipeline project, saying the project is viable and it must be supported to ensure Europe’s energy security.

IMF: Romania’s Planned Spending Slashes Not Without Risk

16:32, 24 Feb. 2010
Romania’s planned spending cuts in the public sector for 2010 are in line with the government’s consolidation strategy, but not without risks, the International Monetary Fund said in a report.

Romanian Social Democrat Senator Quits Party, Joins Independent Lawmakers

14:48, 24 Feb. 2010
Romanian social democrat senator and former foreign minister Cristian Diaconescu has quit the leftist Social Democratic Party and has joined the group of independent lawmakers, group leader Gabriel Oprea told MEDIAFAX Wednesday.

Romania’s Budget Spending Way Above Employees’ Job Performance, Govt’s Resources – Fin Min

13:43, 24 Feb. 2010
Romania’s Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu said the country’s budget expenses are way above employees’ job performance and beyond the government’s capability to ensure medium and long-term sustainability, which further hinders investments in infrastructure or healthcare system.

Romanian Health Ministry To Axe 577 Hospital Interim Manager Positions

13:37, 24 Feb. 2010
Romania’s Health Minister Cseke Attila Wednesday announced that 577 hospital interim manager positions would be terminated, bringing the total number to 1,492 from 2,069, and saving up more than 1 million lei (EUR1=RON4.1269) each month.

Romania May Annul Early Profit Tax Payment – Fin Min

13:25, 24 Feb. 2010
Romania's Finance Ministry analyzes the possibility to annul the early payment of the profit tax, minister Sebastian Vladescu told a news conference Wednesday.

About 400,000 Public Sector Employees Received Illegal Wage Bonuses Totaling EUR2M

13:19, 24 Feb. 2010
Romanian Finance Ministry secretary of state Gheorghe Gherghina said Wednesday about 400,000 employees in the local administration sector received illegal wage bonuses totaling EUR2 million in the 2008 and 2009 interval.

CME Rev Down 14% In 4Q 2009, EBITDA Down 45%

12:55, 24 Feb. 2010
Net revenues of broadcaster Central European Media Enterprises (CME) decreased 14% in the fourth quarter of 2009, to $252.1 million, and its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) decreased 45%, to $44.1 million.

Romania To Face No Problems Paying Pensions In 2010 – Labor Min

12:47, 24 Feb. 2010
Romanian Labor Minister Mihai Seitan told a news conference Wednesday Romania will face no problems paying pensions in 2010, as EUR1.7 billion will be allotted from the state budget to serve this purpose, adding the minimum social pension will be set depending on the inflation rate.

Romania January Budget Gap At 0.03% Of GDP

12:40, 24 Feb. 2010
Romania’s consolidated budget deficit stood at 0.03% of the gross domestic product in January, Finance Ministry state secretary Gheorghe Gherghina said Wednesday.

Romania Still Deems Nabucco A Priority, Yet Open To New Plans

10:44, 24 Feb. 2010
Romania considers the Nabucco gas pipeline a priority but will analyze any other initiative that will contribute to the country and the European Union’s energy safety, Prime Minister Emil Boc said Wednesday.

Romania, IMF Set 2010 Budget Gap Target At RON32B

20:59, 23 Feb. 2010
Romania and the International Monetary Fund agreed on a deficit target at the general consolidated budget of 31.9 billion lei (EUR1=RON4.1224) in 2010, according to the supplementary letter to Romania’s standby arrangement with the IMF.

Romania Pledges To Approve Unitary Wage Law Norms By September 2010

20:46, 23 Feb. 2010
Romania’s Government pledged to approve the norms to implement the unitary wage law by the end of September, cut staff expenses, other than wage costs, by 30%, as well as reduce bonuses for civil staff, according to the country’s additional letter of intent to the standby agreement with the IMF.

Romania Pledges To Cut Staff Costs By 0.2% Of GDP In 2010

20:11, 23 Feb. 2010
Romanian government pledged to cut public personnel expenditure by 0.2% of the gross domestic product in 2010, according to the country’s latest additional letter of intent to the standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

Romanian CNSAS Member Dinescu Contested Integrity Agency’s Incompatibility Decision

19:00, 23 Feb. 2010
Romanian poet Mircea Dinescu, a member in the Council Studying the Archives of Romania's former secret police Securitate (CNSAS), contested the National Integrity Agency’s decision stating he is incompatible with his position in the Council, people close to the matter told MEDIAFAX Tuesday.

New Mandatory Car Insurance Norms To Intensify Competition Btw Repair Shops – Romania’s Insurers

18:58, 23 Feb. 2010
Romania’s insurers said Tuesday insurance regulator CSA’s decision stating insurers must pay civil liability car insurance (RCA) damage claims before cars are repaired and not after they are taken out of repair shops, will impact prices, as well as the quality of services provided by repair shops.

Romanian Integrity Agency Calls On Parliament To Deny Activist’s Access To Secret Files

17:17, 23 Feb. 2010
Romania’s National Integrity Agency (ANI) asked the Parliament Tuesday to dismiss poet Mircea Dinescu from the Council Studying the Archives of Romania's former secret police Securitate (CNSAS), as the agency’s decision stating Dinescu is incompatible with public office remained final.