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Romanian PM Mulls Extending Def Min’s Justice Interim Term

09:50, 27 Feb. 2008
Romania’s Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu will propose acting defense minister Teodor Melescanu for a new interim term at the Justice ministry at the end of this week, PRO TV cited liberal sources as saying.

Social Democrats, Conservatives’ No-Confidence Motion Enacted By Senate

21:26, 26 Feb. 2008
The simple motion “Put an end to poor living standards! Put an end to the irresponsibility in the energy sector,” initiated by members of the leftist opposition Social Democratic Party, or PSD, and of the Conservative Party, or PC, was enacted on Tuesday by the Senate with 74 votes in favor and 33 against.

Romania’s Petrom Mulls Entering Ukrainian Mkt

21:01, 26 Feb. 2008
Romania’s oil and gas company Petrom (SNP.RO) is searching for opportunities to enter the oil market in Ukraine, especially in the fields of oil exploitation and fuel distribution, the company’s CEO Mariana Gheorghe said Tuesday.

Romanian PM Says VAT Cut For Basic Food Cannot Be Operated

18:37, 26 Feb. 2008
Romania’s Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu Tuesday said that cutting the value added tax for basic food products, measure proposed by the Senate, is not an option as other taxes should be increased in order to counter the measure.

Romanian PM Confident Yr-End Budget Deficit Below 3% Of GDP

17:21, 26 Feb. 2008
Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu said Tuesday that the country’s budget deficit will stay below 3% of gross domestic product in 2008, and says it will continue to support the central bank’s policies to temper inflation.

UK Granted Over 30,000 Work Cards To Romanians, Bulgarians In 2007

15:53, 26 Feb. 2008
British authorities granted 30,570 work cards to Romanian and Bulgarian nationals in 2007, the government said in a statement Tuesday.

Romania’s Econ Min To Propose PM Tariceanu To Reduce Budget Expenses By EUR1.1B

15:23, 26 Feb. 2008
Romania’s Economy and Finance Ministry will propose to Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu to cut the expenses by EUR1.1 billion from this year’s budget, without reducing however the budget destined for investments, Finance Minister Varujan Vosganian said Tuesday.

Romanian PM Considers New Nomination For Jus Min-Sources

15:21, 26 Feb. 2008
Romanian Premier Calin Popescu Tariceanu considers nominating a new minister of justice to avoid a possible situation in which President Traian Basescu refuses to dismiss interim minister Teodor Melescanu, liberal sources said Tuesday.

Education Pact Sparks Clash Btw Romanian Social Democrats, President

15:05, 26 Feb. 2008
Romania’s leftist opposition Social-Democratic Party (PSD) said it would not sign the Education Pact proposed by President Traian Basescu unless 7% of gross domestic product is earmarked for the education system, according to a press statement issued Tuesday by the party’s department for education.

Romania Health Ministry To Pay EUR25M For IT&C Equipment

14:36, 26 Feb. 2008
Romania’s health ministry completed an auction to purchase IT&C equipment meant for the healthcare system for an estimated price of EUR25 million, minister Eugen Nicolaescu said Monday.

Romania’s State Protocol Buildings To Be Sold In Auctions Only

13:44, 26 Feb. 2008
The committee for legal matters of the Romanian Senate on Tuesday established that buildings in the administration of the state protocol authority RAAPPS may only be sold in auctions and not by negotiation.

Romanian Intelligence Service To Organize Young Atlanticist Summit

12:48, 26 Feb. 2008
The Atlantic Council of the USA and the Euro-Atlantic Council in Romania – NATO House will organize, with the help of the Romanian Intelligence Service, between April 2 and April 4, the "Young Atlanticist Summit," created as a meeting opportunity for future leaders in the Euro-Atlantic region.

Cigarettes Might Be Sold Near Romanian Schools, Hospitals

12:12, 26 Feb. 2008
The committee for legal matters within the Romanian Senate decided Tuesday that cigarettes might be sold in stores located less than 50 meters away from schools and hospitals, while the ban on the sale of these products applies exclusively on the premises of the mentioned units.

Romania’s Petrom 07 Crude Oil, Gas Output Slightly Dn

12:06, 26 Feb. 2008
The crude oil output of Romania’s largest vertically integrated oil company, Petrom SA (SNP.RO) fell 4% in 2007 to 70.27 million barrels from 73 million barrels in 2006, due to international factors, the company said Tuesday.

Romania Might Fail To Meet 2014 Euro Adoption Timetable – Ctrl Bkr

12:01, 26 Feb. 2008
Romania might not meet its euro-zone entry timetable, which entails euro adoption in 2014, if the country’s soaring inflation doesn’t go down to sustainable levels in 2008 and 2009, central bank governor Mugur Isarescu said Tuesday.

Romania To Hold Local Elections On Time – PM

11:28, 26 Feb. 2008
Romanian Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu restated Tuesday that local elections will not be moved up or postponed and will be organized at a date so as not to overlap with Easter or the European Football Championship.

EU Asks Copy Of Romanian Parliament Committee Report On Alleged CIA Flights

11:04, 26 Feb. 2008
The European Commission is awaiting a detailed report from Romanian authorities regarding alleged CIA flights carrying terror suspects via Romania, and a copy of the report drafted by the parliament investigation committee, BBC Romania reported.

Italian Authorities Put 26 Romanians Under Arrest In Last 48 Hours

18:08, 25 Feb. 2008
Italian authorities arrested 26 Romanian citizens in the last 48 hours, under charges of theft, forgery and resisting arrest, according to Italian news agency APcom.

Greater Romania Party Urges Talks On No-Confidence Car Tax Motion

17:27, 25 Feb. 2008
Corneliu Vadim Tudor, head of the far-right Greater Romania Party, or PRM, said his party would not vote the no-confidence motion on the first registration tax for cars initiated by the Democratic Liberal Party, unless talks are held in this respect.

Romanian Jan Pvt Lending +67% YY At RON154.2B

15:34, 25 Feb. 2008
Romanian private lending rose 66.8% on the year in January in real terms to 154.25 billion lei ($62.4 billion), due to higher loans in both leu and foreign currencies, the central bank said Monday.

Romanian Liberal Democrats Launch No-Confidence Motion

14:54, 25 Feb. 2008
Romania’s Democrat Liberal Party (PDL) leader Emil Boc said Monday the party launches a no-confidence motion dubbed “Tariceanu, give the money back!".

Romania’s Def Min Remains Justice Interim

14:36, 25 Feb. 2008
Leaders of Romania’s ruling Liberal Party, or PNL, did not discuss the issue of the Justice Ministry, and defense minister Teodor Melescanu remains interim justice minister.

Romania To Refund Car Tax Only If Forced By EC Or European Court Of Justice

14:26, 25 Feb. 2008
The Romanian government will return in full the money collected for the car tax only following a decision of the European Commission and possibly of the European Court of Justice.

Romanian Savings Bk CEC To Start Compensation On Dec ‘21

12:44, 25 Feb. 2008
People who deposited money in Romanian savings bank CEC before 1992 for the acquisition of Dacia cars, will receive their money back in one installment, starting with December 21, 2008, economy and finance minister Varujan Vosganian said Monday.

Eight Romanians Injured In Road Accident In Austria

12:28, 25 Feb. 2008
Eight Romanians were injured Sunday night in the road accident near Vienna, Austria, and two of the victims are in serious condition, said Ioana Bobes, attaché of Romania’s Embassy to Vienna.

Some 42,000 Romanian Public Servants On Go-Slow Strike

09:55, 25 Feb. 2008
Some 42,000 Romanian public servants affiliated to the de National Federation of Unions in the Administration (FNSA) started Monday morning a two-hour go-slow strike, protesting against the government’s wage propositions.

Romanian Pres Criticizes Autonomy Memorandum Drawn By Szeckler Council

19:54, 24 Feb. 2008
Romanian president Traian Basescu said on Sunday that the request of the National Szeckler Council (CNS) for the autonomy of the Szeckler county, area in eastern Transylvania populated mostly by Magyars, is only “an attempt to stir up spirits.”

Romania Will Fight Back If Hungarian Govt Supports Szeckler Autonomy-Pres

16:19, 24 Feb. 2008
Romania’s president Traian Basescu said he does not believe that the Hungarian government issued a statement according to which it would support the autonomy fight of the Szeckler county.

Romanian Pres Holds No Info About CIA Prisoner Site At Kogalniceanu Base

15:29, 24 Feb. 2008
Romanian president Traian Basescu said on Sunday in Covasna, central Romania, that he has no knowledge of alleged prisoner exchange at Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase.

Romania’s Ctrl Bker Highlights Importance Of Financial Stability

15:17, 24 Feb. 2008
Romania’s central bank governor Mugur Isarescu said that price stability, the central bank’s main objective, cannot be ensured at the cost of financial stability and excessive external imbalance.

Kogalniceanu Base Commander Denies CIA Prisoner Site Existence

14:32, 24 Feb. 2008
Adrian Vasile, the commander of the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase, in eastern Romania on Sunday denied the information regarding terror suspect exchanges that allegedly took place at the airbase.

Ex National Security Counselor Says He Knows Nothing About CIA Flights

13:39, 24 Feb. 2008
Former presidential counselor for national security, Ioan Talpes, on Sunday told Mediafax reporters that he knows nothing on the disclosures regarding strange “parcel exchanges” from Mihail Kogalniceanu American airbase in eastern Romania.

Magyar Autonomy, An Issue Romania Needs To Deal With -Official

13:18, 24 Feb. 2008
Laszlo Tokes, president of the National Council of Magyars in Transylvania, said that the autonomy of the Magyar minority in Romania is a domestic problem the country needs to solve.

Romanians From Transylvania Ask Pres To Solve Magyar-Romanian Issues

18:16, 23 Feb. 2008
The members of the Romanian civil society from Transylvanian Covasna and Harghita regions met on Saturday with president Traian Basescu and raised some issues with which the Romanian community in the area is currently confronting.

Local, Parliament Elections Cannot Take Place Simultaneously- Liberal Official

16:50, 23 Feb. 2008
Ludovic Orban, the vice-president of the National Liberal Party, or PNL, Saturday told a press conference that local elections and parliament elections cannot legally nor constitutionally take place in the same time.

Nastase Comeback Seals Deal Btw Liberals-Social Democrats-Official

13:41, 23 Feb. 2008
Emil Boc, the head of the Democratic Liberal Party, or PDL, said on Saturday, during the congress of the young organization of the party, that Adrian Nastase’s comeback within the Social Democratic Party structures seals the symbolic agreement between social democrats and liberals.

Cesar Award For “Best Foreign Film” Goes To “Viata Celorlalti”

13:23, 23 Feb. 2008
Cristian Mungiu’s "4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days" lost the award for the “best foreign film category” of the 33rd edition of the Cesar Awards to Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s “Viata celorlalti.”

Romanian Pres Visits C Romania County Populated By Magyars

20:03, 22 Feb. 2008
Romanian president Traian Basescu said Friday that his visit in central Romanian county of Covasna, area populated mostly by Magyars, has nothing to do with Kosovo’s recent declaration of independence, as some politicians had stated.

Romania’s Econ Shows Signs Of Overheating – EU Council

19:22, 22 Feb. 2008
Romania’s rapidly expanding economy is showing clear signs of overheating with a ballooning current account deficit, growing labor shortages and private lending, the Council of the European Union said after examining Romania’s updated euro adoption timetable for 2007-2010.

Romanian Ex PM Makes Comeback On Political Scene

18:52, 22 Feb. 2008
Former Romanian prime minister Adrian Nastase was elected president of the National Council of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), with 418 votes, against Dan Mircea Popescu, for whom 202 delegates voted, while 28 votes were annulled.