English

Romanian Public Servants Postpone Protests, Start Talks

13:52, 19 Feb. 2009
The members of the Romanian National Union of Public Servants (SNPF) will suspend the protest actions announced for February 20 and 27, over an interval of ten days, as long as negotiations last with the Government, and if the negotiation result is good the unionists could even call off the strikes.

Romanian Social Services Employees Demand Higher Wages

13:46, 19 Feb. 2009
Members of Romanian social services and child care unions demand the same wage rights as employees of local administrations, once the unitary public sector wage law comes into effect. They ask that the status of maternal assistants be made clearer and request bonuses for special working conditions.

Romanian Govt To Back Bucharest Mayoralty In Basarab Passageway Case- PM

12:28, 19 Feb. 2009
The Romanian government will back the Bucharest mayoralty in its endeavor to have the Basarab high-level passageway declared of public utility, Prime Minister Emil Boc said Thursday, adding he already talked to Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu and would also look into the matter with finance minister.

Madonna To Sing In Bucharest On Aug 26

11:59, 19 Feb. 2009
Madonna will sing in Bucharest on August 26, in Izvor Park, with tickets coming on sale starting Tuesday, March 3, at prices ranging from RON120 to RON800, organizers said.

Romanian Farmers To Resume Mkt Activities Without Trade Registry Papers

20:58, 18 Feb. 2009
Romanian sheep and goat farmers can continue to sell their products in markets without the need for registration in the Trade Registry as authorized individuals, since agriculture minister Ilie Sarbu decided to amend the Order on the selling of animal origin products.

Romanian Used Car Owners Have 20 Days TO Pay Tax At Old Value

20:04, 18 Feb. 2009
Romanian owners of imported used cars who bought the vehicle before December 15, 2008, have 20 days to submit the literature needed to pay the car tax at the old value, before the tripling applied in December.

Romanian Govt Introduces Guaranteed Minimum Pension Of RON300 As Of April 1, ‘09

17:43, 18 Feb. 2009
Pensioners will have the right to a guaranteed minimum social pension of 300 lei (EUR1=RON4.2950) as of April 2009, and of RON350 from October, the Romanian government decided by an emergency ordinance in Wednesday meeting.

Romanian Govt Cuts Pollution Tax By One Third

17:23, 18 Feb. 2009
The Romanian Government reduced the pollution tax for cars by one third compared to the triple value applied starting December 15, 2008, prime minister Emil Boc announced.

Environment Commission To Ask Romanian Govt to Suspend Eco-Tax for 3-4 Months

16:52, 18 Feb. 2009
The Commission for Public Administration and the Environment with the Chamber of Deputies will ask the Romanian Government to suspend applying for 3-4 months the Emergency Ordinance which taxes plastic bags, to improve the normative act.

Romanians Accused Of Rape In Italy Are From C Romanian Brasov – Police

16:15, 18 Feb. 2009
The two Romanians charged with rape in Italy, Isztoika Loyos Alexandru, 20, and Karol Racz, 36, are from romania’s central county of Brasov, local police said.

Romanian Ex PM Sues Current PM Over Public Statements

16:12, 18 Feb. 2009
The president of the Romanian National Liberal Party announced Wednesday that he has sued prime minister Emil Boc and social democrat Iulian Iancu, for their statements in the Sterling case, and asked for damages worth RON100,000 from each of them.

Romanian Leu Would Not Depreciate On Liquidity Crisis – Ctrl Bker

15:37, 18 Feb. 2009
The Romanian leu would not depreciate against the euro if the market would lack liquidity and a 20% variation of the exchange rate in two years is not a shock, central bank governor Mugur Isarescu said Wednesday.

Liberals Orban, Antonescu To Run For Party President

15:14, 18 Feb. 2009
Romanian Liberal Party spokesman Bogdan Olteanu said Wednesday after the party’s standing delegation meeting that party vice-presidents Ludovic Orban and Crin Antonescu announced they would run for party president.

Romanian Govt OKs Holiday Tickets For Employees

15:11, 18 Feb. 2009
Romanian government on Wednesday approved the introduction of holiday tickets for employees and set their value at up to six gross minimum wages a ticket, Tourism Minister Elena Udrea said.

Romanian Residential Prices Might Fall By Another 30% In ’09 – Evaluation Co

14:07, 18 Feb. 2009
Romania’s residential prices might fall by another 20-30% this year, after a drop of up to 20% so far, as the demand lowered in the last period due to the difficult access to bank loans, Adrian Crivii, the general manager of evaluation company Darian, said Wednesday.

Employees Fired From Romanian Prime Minister’s Control Body To Sue Govt

14:04, 18 Feb. 2009
The employees who have been fired from the Prime Minister’s Control Body decided to go against the orders dismissing them and sue Romania’s Government.

EC Launches Excessive Deficit Procedure Against 6 Member States, Romania Not Analyzed Yet

13:56, 18 Feb. 2009
The European Commission launched Wednesday the excessive deficit procedure against six EU member states, after considering the exceptional circumstances of the ongoing sharp economic downturn, while Romania has not been yet analyzed by the Commission.

Romanian Housing Agency Seeks Land To Build Houses Via Mortgage Loans

13:43, 18 Feb. 2009
Romania’s housing authority ANL on Wednesday said will apply for as many free plots of land as possible to build houses through mortgage credit across the country.

Romania To Apply Updated Calculation Method For Building, Land Taxes In ‘10

13:15, 18 Feb. 2009
The updated calculation method for taxes on buildings and lands, which translates into a hike depending on inflation or the market value, will be applicable only as of January 1, 2010, said fiscal policies and local budgets manager within Romania’s Interior Ministry, Daniel Marinescu.

Romania’s Salaries Seen Up 12-13% On Yr In ‘09 – Survey

13:11, 18 Feb. 2009
Romania's salaries are seen 12% to 13% higher in 2009, almost similar with the 13.3% hike in 2008, as local employees' salaries are still lower compared with other European countries, according to a survey of German recruitment company Kienbaum.

Heroin Prices In Romania Doubled

12:12, 18 Feb. 2009
Drug consumers will have to pay twice as much for a dose of heroin, with the price now at 70-80 lei (EUR1=RON4.3096) on the Bucharest drug market. They will also put their life in jeopardy, because although there is less heroin in a shot, the concentration of chemicals is higher.

Romanian Foreign Affairs Min To Meet Italian Counterpart On Monday

11:22, 18 Feb. 2009
Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Cristian Diaconescu will meet on Monday his Italian counterpart Franco Frattini to talk about bilateral relations, with focus on the business environment and the situation of the Romanians in Italy, ministry’s spokesperson Alin Serbanescu told MEDIAFAX.

Romanian Ordinance on Biometric Passports Goes Ahead

11:08, 18 Feb. 2009
The Government Ordinance regarding the introduction of biometric passports in Romania is still applicable, despite protests by various NGOs, which the Bucharest Court of Appeals rejected Wednesday.

Two Romanians Arrested By Italian Police On Charges Of Rape

10:24, 18 Feb. 2009
Italian authorities arrested Tuesday evening two suspects of Romanian citizenship who raped a girl in the Caffarella Park in Rome, and one of them confessed to having committed the rape, Correre della Sera reported in its online edition.

Romanian Govt Might Take Responsibility For Civil, Criminal Codes – Sources

10:04, 18 Feb. 2009
The Romanian government will send the Civil, Criminal and their respective procedure Codes to be debated in Parliament for two months and then plans to take responsibility for their adoption, sources close to the talks told MEDIAFAX late Tuesday.

Romania To Host 2011 UEFA European U-19 C’ship – Paper

20:13, 17 Feb. 2009
Romania obtained the rights to organize the 2011 European Under-19 Football Championship at the new “National” stadium in Bucharest, general manager of the Romanian Football Federation (FRF), Ionut Lupescu told sport.ro on Tuesday.

Romanian Govt Might Hike Taxable Ceiling For Pensions – Labor Min

19:59, 17 Feb. 2009
Romanian authorities should hike the taxable ceiling for pensions at the next revision of the Fiscal Code, Labor Minister Marian Sarbu said Tuesday.

US Carmaker Ford To Invest EUR1.2B In Romanian Plant, May Get EUR600M From EIB

19:41, 17 Feb. 2009
US carmaker Ford will invest EUR1.2 billion in its Romanian factory and asked for a EUR600 million loan from European Investment Bank, or EIB, out of which EUR400 million will go directly to its Craiova plant, and the rest indirectly, to Ford Europe’s research and development center in Germany.

Romanian Pres Calls For Concrete Actions To Lift EC Monitoring In Justice Sys

19:40, 17 Feb. 2009
Romanian President Traian Basescu on Tuesday told the high officials attending the debates on the country’s justice system that concrete actions must be taken in order to get the European Commission to stop monitoring the justice system.

Romanian Weapon Theft Suspects Remain Under Preventive Arrest

16:49, 17 Feb. 2009
The seven soldiers charged with stealing weapons from the Romanian military base at Ciorogarla, near Bucharest, were placed in preventive arrest for 25 days, Tuesday, following a decision of the Bucharest Territorial Military Court.

Dozens Of Chinese Workers Urge Embassy To Bucharest To Help Them Return To China

16:43, 17 Feb. 2009
Dozens of Chinese citizens working in constructions in Romania have been urging the Chinese Embassy in Bucharest for weeks to help them go back to China and have even set up improvised shelters in front of the embassy.

Romanian Family Doctors Call Off Protests

16:27, 17 Feb. 2009
Romanian family doctors said Tuesday, following talks with the country’s health minister Ion Bazac and the head of the National Health Insurance House (CNAS), that they would call off protests scheduled Wednesday through Friday, after they found a way to assign reasonable funds for primary medical assistance.

Drug Dealers Tried At Large Caught In Possession Of Heroin In Bucharest

15:59, 17 Feb. 2009
Romanian border police found four people with two kilograms of heroin in Bucharest, and two of them were being tried at large for possession of heroin three years ago.

Romania Is A Net Beneficiary Of The EU Budget – Official

15:42, 17 Feb. 2009
Romania is a net beneficiary of the EU budget, Cristina Arigho, EC spokesperson for financial programming and budget, said Tuesday in a press conference.

Romanian Tourism Min Changes Headquarters

15:22, 17 Feb. 2009
The headquarters of the Romanian Ministry of Tourism was moved in the Ministry of Transport building, after functioning, in the past two months, in the building of the Ministry for SMEs, Commerce and the Business Environment.

Romania’s Banks Should Be More Flexible With Cos’ Installments

14:59, 17 Feb. 2009
Romania’s banks should be more indulgent with companies on the payment of their loan installments, Constantin Nita, the Minister of SMEs, Commerce and Business Environment, adding that the local banking system is not flexible with the current market.

Coca-Cola HBC Romania To Lay Off 100 Employees In ‘09

14:28, 17 Feb. 2009
Coca-Cola HBC Romania, the local unit of Greek bottler Coca-Cola HBC, will lay off about 100 employees countrywide in 2009, as part of its operations reorganization program, the company’s PR and communication manager Mugurel Radulescu said.

Ordinance On Retail Good Practice Code To Be Enforced In Max 3 Weeks –Agr Min

14:04, 17 Feb. 2009
The draft emergency decree containing the main provisions of the Code for Good Practice in the retail sector will be enforced in two–three weeks, and the effect over prices will be immediately visible, Romanian Agriculture Minister Ilie Sarbu said.

The Charlatans To Play Romanian B’estfest In July

13:21, 17 Feb. 2009
British indie rockers The Charlatans are the latest confirmation for B’estfest 2009, joining The Ting Tings on stage on July 4, say festival organizers Emagic.

Hungarian Police Arrest 4th Suspect In Handball Player Killing

12:42, 17 Feb. 2009
Hungarian police arrested a fourth suspect in connection to the stabbing of a Romanian handball player in west Hungary over a week, local police told Hungarian news agency MTI Tuesday.