Liberals To Back Ciolos For PM At Fall Elections
The National Liberal Party (PNL) pledged to support incumbent Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos at the parliamentary elections this fall if the latter decides to run on PNL’s lists.
Cristian Busoi, head of PNL’s Bucharest branch, said he wants Ciolos and other ministers in his Cabinet to be present on PNL’s lists for parliamentary elections.
However, Ciolos repeatedly said he would not run for the parliamentary elections, wishing to end his term as a technocrat. (Adevarul)
Romania May Hold Parliamentary Elections On December 11
Eugen Tomac, president of the People’s Movement Party (PMP), said PMP proposed December 11, 2016 as the date of parliamentary elections, within talks held with Government representatives.
Tomac said December 11 is more appropriate than December 4 which falls in a week with many days-off when Romanians are highly likely to go on vacation with their friends or families. (Puterea)
Romanian State May Offer More Support To The Underprivileged In The Future
The Romanian state is likely to offer more support to the underprivileged in the future, including by offering financial aid for rent payments, according to a Facebook post of deputy Prime Minister Vasile Dincu.
According to Dincu, one of the measures that is being drafted within the National Housing Strategy targets the „provision of subsidies/vouchers for house renting on the market or the use of instruments such as public-private partnerships for the construction of public homes.”
The strategy will be put up for public debate by the end of August. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Romanian Banks Report RON2B Profit
Romania’s banking system posted about 2.4 billion lei (EUR537 million) net profit in the first half so the profit may come close or even be higher than in the last year of economic boom, 2008, when it stood at RON4.7 billion.
The rise in profits banks posted in the first half was because portfolio quality improvement and provision decline, after they got rid of a significant chunk of non-performing loans, as well as because of the increase in new loans. The loan-deposit interest margin and the increase in fee and commission income also helped the banks’ bottom line. A significant contribution also came from the sale of the Visa shares.
The banking system profit stood at about RON1.17 billion at the end of the first quarter, so it managed to double it by the end of the second quarter.
Banks posted RON4.5 billion profit in 2015, according to Romania’s central bank data, close to the 2008 record. (Adevarul)
Heavy Rain Floods Houses, Falls Trees In Capital Bucharest
The Bucharest Emergency Inspectorate said it received on Monday, at 10- 11 p.m., more than 20 requests for flood water removal from basements and yards that had accumulated in the houses of Bucharest people after the latest heavy rain showers.
“There are some consequences of the weather phenomena of the past two hours, but none of them are very serious. First of all, we are talking about interventions to remove flood water from the people’s basements or yards. In the time frame between 10 and 11 p.m. on Monday, more than 20 such requests were made. (…) After 11 p.m, the number of requests increased and also included removal of fallen trees from the pavement or motor vehicles,” ISU Bucharest Spokesman Daniel Vasile told Digi 24. (Puterea)