Klaus Iohannis, Matteo Renzi Held Talks On Schengen Issue
Italy supports the accession of Romania to Schengen Area, according to the conclusions of the talks between President Klaus Iohannis and Italian PM Matteo Renzi.
Renzi said the accession would not only be beneficial for Romania, but also for Italy and the European Union. The two officials also held talks about the Roma community in Italy, the upcoming Riga summit, and the future of European construction, which needs strategic ideas in this respect.
“Europe needs ideas, at the moment” Renzi stated, according to official sources. (Puterea)
Romania Posts Budget Surplus of 0.7% of GDP in 1Q
Romania’s budget posted surplus after the first three months as the country recorded higher tax revenues, while investment expenses were cut, data from the Finance Ministry showed Tuesday.
At the end of March, the consolidated budget posted surplus of 4.9 billion lei (EUR1.1 billion), or 0.7% of the gross domestic product, compared with a deficit of RON0.93 billion in the same period of 2014.
Total revenue increased 12.6% on the year, to RON54.96 billion, fueled by a 14.7% rise in tax revenues. The country registered 14.6% higher receipts from personal income tax in January to March, but corporate tax revenue declined 0.6% on the year.
Takes from value added tax, which account for more than a quarter of total revenue, rose 20.8% on the year, while excise duties added 11.4% more to the budget this year compared with the first quarter of 2014. (Puterea)
Chamber Of Deputies To Reexamine Political Party Funding Law
The deputies will debate Wednesday the draft law on the setup of political parties and the reexamination of the law on funding political parties, as the Chamber of Deputies is a decisional body in this respect, head of the Electoral Code Committee, Mihai Voicu, stated.
The Electoral Code Committee discussed the amendments filed by deputies, which were previously adopted by the Senate.
Last week, President Klaus Iohannis sent a reexamination request for the political party funding law, asking for a clear specification on the issue of the loans that can be taken by political parties. (Romania Libera)
Retailers Say No Price Hike Operated On Food Products Ahead Of VAT Cut
The representatives of supermarkets were heard Tuesday in the Agriculture Committee and said that no price hike has been operated on food products ahead of the VAT cut and that the prices will decrease by 12%.
Nini Sapunaru, head of the Agriculture Committee, said that, according to certain information, retailers have operated price increases on food products lately, and that consumers are concerned that the VAT cut would no longer trigger price decreases. (Adevarul)
Medical Doctors Face IT System Issues With Health Insurance Card Reader
The Romanian healthcare system seems to be unprepared for the introduction of the health insurance card.
Most of the hospital managers say they have managed to buy card readers but, according to Health Ministry representatives, they have only done that in the last week, after they were threatened with fines.
Although they had three months to test the functionality of the IT system for health insurance cards, hospital physicians are facing IT system issues a few days before the new documents would replace the old ones. (Adevarul)