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EXCLUSIVE: Romania Ctrl Bank To Report EUR2B Drop In Reserves Under IMF Deal

10:51, 11 Feb. 2011
Romania’s central bank has pledged to consult with the International Monetary Fund if its reserves are to drop by over EUR2 billion in any given month during the country’s two-year follow up agreement with the fund, according to a draft letter of intent agreed with the IMF.

EXCLUSIVE: Romania Delays Romgaz Floating Until 1H 2012

10:34, 11 Feb. 2011
The Romanian Government has delayed until the spring of 2012 the sale of a 15% stake in natural gas producer Romgaz Medias, according to the country’s draft letter of intent agreed with the International Monetary Fund.

EXCLUSIVE: Romania May Rethink Entire Energy Strategy

10:30, 11 Feb. 2011
Romanian government pledged to search an alternative strategy to overhaul its energy system if its current plans to set up two national champions fail to produce the desired results by year-end, according to the country’s draft letter of intent agreed with the International Monetary Fund.

EXCLUSIVE: Romanian Office Checking High Wealth Individuals Operational By August

10:14, 11 Feb. 2011
The Romanian state office tasked with checking high net wealth individuals will be staffed by end-March and operational by August 2011, according to the letter of intent agreed upon by the Government and the International Monetary Fund.

EXCLUSIVE: Romania To Sell Majority Stake In Oltchim In 2H/2012

10:10, 11 Feb. 2011
Romanian authorities are poised to hire an international consultant to prepare key-privatizations of state run companies, including chemical producer Oltchim SA (OLT.RO), according to the country’s draft letter of intent agreed with the International Monetary Fund.

EXCLUSIVE: Romanian Energy Prices Adjusted To Market Rates Shortly

10:05, 11 Feb. 2011
Romanian government has pledged to adjust to market rates the energy and natural gas prices of existing contracts signed by state-owned companies as soon as possible, according to the country’s draft letter of intent agreed with the International Monetary Fund.

EXCLUSIVE: Romania Searches Strategic Investor In Tarom Airline

10:03, 11 Feb. 2011
Romania will seek a strategic investor for state-run airline Tarom by end-2011, with a view toward full privatization when market conditions permit it, according to the country’s draft letter of intent agreed with the International Monetary Fund.

EXCLUSIVE: Romanian Govt To Allow State-Run Passenger Railway Co To Hike Ticket Prices

09:59, 11 Feb. 2011
Romania’s Government will allow state-run passenger railway company CFR Calatori to increase train ticket prices to better cover costs and render the company’s activity more effective, according to the Government’s letter of intent to the IMF, obtained by MEDIAFAX.

EXCLUSIVE: Romanian Govt To Revise List Of Compensated, Free Drugs, Cut Hospital Beds By 5,700

09:58, 11 Feb. 2011
Romania’s Government has committed in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to revise the list of compensated and free medicines with a view to reducing their number and replacing the remaining ones with cheaper drugs.

EXCLUSIVE: Romania To Outsource Railroad Maintenance, Or Close 30% Of Network

09:57, 11 Feb. 2011
Romanian state-run railway company CFR SA will close 1,000 kilometers of railway lines by end-August and a further 6000 km (30% of the country's railroad network) later, unless the state can outsource their maintenance through public tenders.

EXCLUSIVE: Romania To Continue Spending Cut Policies In 2012, Amend Heating Aid Legislation

09:55, 11 Feb. 2011
Romania’s Government has committed in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to continue spending cut policies in 2012 to bring the budget deficit down to 3% and revise the heating aid system by end-July, so subsidies will be granted only to people on low income.

EXCLUSIVE: Finance Ministry To Check Financial Indicators Of All State-Owned Cos

09:53, 11 Feb. 2011
Financial control of state-owned companies will be transferred to the Ministry of Finance from the respective ministries where they are subordinated to improve governance in the sector, the Romanian Government said in its letter of intent to the International Monetary Funds.

EXCLUSIVE: Romania To Allow Bucharest Public Transport Cos To Up Tariffs Beyond Inflation

09:52, 11 Feb. 2011
Romania’s Government has committed in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to allow public transport companies in Bucharest, Metrorex and RATB, to hike their tariffs beyond inflation-indexing to allow them to cover their current expenses from revenues instead of subsidies.

Romanian Tourism Certification Process Sped Up

19:44, 10 Feb. 2011
Tourism classification certificates and licenses will be issued 30 days after the operator files the necessary paperwork, as per an order of the Romanian Minister of Tourism, which reduces the waiting period and introduces new requirements on pensions in rural areas.

Defense Strategy Adoption Put Off As Tax Evasion, Smuggling Listed As Threats – Romanian President

18:22, 10 Feb. 2011
Romanian President Traian Basescu said Thursday on public radio he believes that one of the reasons why the Parliament puts off the adoption of the country’s National Defense Strategy is that the document lists tax evasion and smuggling among threats to national security.

Romania’s Progress Under CVM Should Not Affect Country’s Schengen Accession – Minister

16:41, 10 Feb. 2011
Romania’s Interior Minister Traian Igas said Thursday, after a meeting with European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom, the country’s progress under the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification (CVM) should not bear upon its Schengen accession.

EC To Release Report On Romanian Justice Sector Friday – President

15:19, 10 Feb. 2011
Romanian President Traian Basescu said Thursday on public radio that the European Commission's report on Romania's justice sector will be released Friday at the latest.

Romania’s 2011 Clunkers Program To Be Similar To That In ‘10 – Environment Minister

13:30, 10 Feb. 2011
The Romanian clunkers program will continue this year, in a similar way to that in 2010, and the scrapping of cars will start around March 20 if the Environment Fund’s budget and guide are adopted next week, Environment Minister Laszlo Borbely told a news conference Thursday.

Bucharest Apartment Rents Fall By Up To 20% YY In Jan – Survey

12:52, 10 Feb. 2011
Rents for apartments in Romania’s capital city Bucharest dropped by 10% to 20% in January compared with the same period of 2010, with the highest fall in case of 4-room flats, according to a survey of AnunturiParticulari.ro real estate website.

Romanian Investigators Find Fifteen Other Weapons Stolen From Military Base In ‘09

12:09, 10 Feb. 2011
Romanian organized crime prosecutors found five AKM machine guns and ten pistols, stolen from the Romanian military base Ciorogarla, near Bucharest, in March 2009, hidden at Eugen Preda’s grandparents’ home, prosecutors said in a press release Thursday.

IMF: New Agreement Aims Keeping Romania On The Right Track

10:17, 10 Feb. 2011
Romania’s follow-up agreement with the International Monetary Fund sets a series of ambitious goals for the next two years, but not all of them will be completed by the end of the financial program, IMF mission chief Jeffrey Franks said late Wednesday.

Anticorruption Prosecutors Detain 97 Police, Customs Workers In W Romania

09:56, 10 Feb. 2011
Romania’s National Anticorruption Department has detained a total 97 border police and customs workers at border crossing points in western Romania suspected of corruption and smuggling.

Romanian Govt Approves Bill Eliminating Govt Inspectors

09:54, 10 Feb. 2011
Romania’s Government approved a bill Wednesday evening eliminating the position of government inspector and people filling such positions are to be transferred into a reserve body.

Romanian Customs Authority Head Fired Amid Corruption Scandal

07:24, 10 Feb. 2011
Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc dismissed National Customs Authority head Radu Traian Marginean Wednesday evening, who has been indicted on charges of corruption.

Romanian PM Asks Cabinet For Solutions To State-Run Cos’ Arrears – Sources

20:25, 09 Feb. 2011
Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc gave the ministers of Finance, Transports, Economy and Justice, as well as the president of revenue service ANAF, one week to find ways to reduce the arrears of state-owned companies.

Romanian Housing Price Should Drop Until 2H 2011 – Evaluators

17:31, 09 Feb. 2011
Romanian housing prices will continue to decrease slightly in the first half of the year and will stabilize in the second half, according to evaluation firm Darian.

Fifteen Police, Customs Workers In SW Romania Detained On Corruption Charges

16:00, 09 Feb. 2011
Fifteen border police and customs workers at a border crossing point in southwestern Romania on Wednesday have been detained for 24 hours by anticorruption prosecutors.

Romanian PM Calls For Public-Private Projects, New Auction For Comarnic-Brasov Hwy

14:48, 09 Feb. 2011
Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc urged Cabinet ministers Wednesday to complete a list of public-private partnership projects by March and called for a new auction to award construction works for the Comarnic-Brasov highway.

Romania’s PM To Manage EU Project Management Unit Directly

14:27, 09 Feb. 2011
The Romanian Structural Instrument Coordination Authority (ACIS) will be transferred from under the authority of the Finance Ministry to the prime minister, to monitor European fund absorption, Prime Minister Emil Boc announced Wednesday.

Romanian Prosecutors Indict Customs Authority Head For Corruption

14:05, 09 Feb. 2011
Romanian anticorruption prosecutors on Wednesday indicted National Customs Authority head Radu Traian Marginean on charges of corruption, people close to the matter told MEDIAFAX.

Romanian Senate Rejects Bill Renaming Roma As Gypsies

13:27, 09 Feb. 2011
Romanian senators on Wednesday rejected 51 to 27 votes and five abstentions a bill that would have renamed the country’s Roma minority internally as “gypsies”.

Scorpions Farewell Tour Stops Over In Romania On June 9

13:13, 09 Feb. 2011
German rock band Scorpions will play a concert in Bucharest on June 9, at Zone Arena, part of their farewell tour, called Get Your Sting and Blackout World Tour, concert organizers said Wednesday.

Romania Should Focus On Supporting SMEs – Ctrl Bk Head

12:18, 09 Feb. 2011
Romanian authorities can take lots of measures to support small and medium-sized enterprises, such as reducing bureaucracy and checkups, but also improving the business environment, central bank governor Mugur Isarescu said Wednesday.

Thirty Police, Customs Workers In W Romania Detained On Corruption Charges

11:10, 09 Feb. 2011
Thirty border police and customs officers at border crossing points in western Romania have been detained following ample raids and five others will be investigated at large, the National Anticorruption Department said Wednesday.

Romania 2010 Trade Gap Narrows To EUR9.46B

10:23, 09 Feb. 2011
Romania’s trade deficit narrowed to EUR9.46 billion in 2010, from EUR9.86 billion a year earlier, the country’s statistics institute INS said Wednesday.

Bucharest City Hall Waives 3% Hotel Tax For 2011

16:00, 08 Feb. 2011
The Bucharest City Hall has waived the 3% tax on hotel revenue from accommodation for this year, giving up more than EUR2 million in income, but allowing hotel operators to lower their fees by 3%.

Almost 75% Of Romanian Minors Who Use Internet Receive Sexual Messages – Studies

15:17, 08 Feb. 2011
Three quarters of Romanian children aged between six and 17 use the Internet, 60% of them are contacted by pedophiles and 24% receive sexual messages, according to two studies presented by "Save the Children" and Focus, on Safer Internet Day.

Romanian Railway Workers Threaten To Go On General Strike In March

14:55, 08 Feb. 2011
Unions in Romania’s railway sector threaten to go on full-blown strike early March and triggered a work conflict Tuesday as collective work contracts have expired for all three state-owned railway companies.

Romanian Deputies Reject Prosecutors’ Request To Lift MP’s Immunity

14:46, 08 Feb. 2011
The Romanian anticorruption prosecutors’ request to have the immunity of democrat liberal MP Dan Pasat didn't garner sufficient votes for approval from the Chamber of Deputies Tuesday.

Romanian Consumers Among Most Affected By Crisis In 2010 – GfK

14:04, 08 Feb. 2011
Romanian and Greek consumers felt the worst effects of the crisis and the high public debt out of all Europeans last year, while Germans were the best off, according to a study by GfK.