Former President Traian Basescu Makes First TV Appearance Since End Of Term
Former president Traian Basescu will be a guest on a show on public television Monday, his first TV appearance since ending his presidential term.
Basescu is a guest on a show on TVR 1, which airs Monday evening at 9. The show’s host, Sorin Avram, said he wants to discuss current events with the former president. (Romania Libera)
Romania’s GDP Growth At 2.9% In 2014
Romania’s gross domestic product grew by 2.9% in real terms last year compared with 2013, a flash estimate from the statistics institute INS showed.
In the fourth quarter, the GDP was up 0.5% compared with the previous quarter in seasonally-adjusted data, the statistics reading said.
Compared with the same period of 2013, the fourth-quarter GDP was up 2.5% in seasonally-adjusted data and 2.6% higher in non-adjusted data.
The statistics office also revised seasonally-adjusted growth for previous quarters, following new data for 2013. Therefore, the third-quarter GDP is now estimated to be 2.2% higher than the previous quarter, from 1.8% previously seen, while the growth estimate for the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2013 was slashed to 0.3% from 0.8%. Data for the second quarter of 2014 is unchanged, showing a 0.4% contraction compared with the previous three-month period. (Adevarul)
VAT Could Be Lowered By Two Points By Summer
The value added tax (VAT) could be reduced by at least two percentage points by this summer and other taxes could be eliminated, said Andrei Gerea, minister for energy, SMEs and business environment.
The government has already lowered the VAT from 24% to 9% on tourist packages. Also, Prime Minister Victor Ponta and Finance Minister Darius Valcov have said repeatedly the VAT will be lowered within a year.
Romania’s current VAT rate is 24%. (Puterea)
Romania’s Inflation At 0.4% in January
Romanian consumer prices rose 0.4% in January from a month earlier, mainly due to higher food and service prices, but the annual inflation fell to 0.4%, the country’s statistics institute INS said.
In 2014, the annual inflation rate dropped to a post-communist era low of 0.8%.
Prices of both food products and services went up 0.6% on the month in January, while non-food items were by 0.2% more expensive, the data showed.
Romanians paid 4.5% more for vegetables in January compared with a month earlier, fresh fruit prices increased 2.7%, while the price of eggs went up 1.2%. In the non-food sector, prices of fuels were down 2.5% on the month, but the electricity cost rose 4.75%. Among prices of services, healthcare became 1.9% more expensive, while utility costs increased 1% compared with December. (Romania Libera)
Romania Hopes To Introduce New Hep C Treatments This Year
National Health Insurance House (CNAS) president Vasile Ciurchea said he hopes new hepatitis C treatments are introduced in the first half of this year.
Ciurchea said he hopes the institution will shortly make way for modern hep C treatments, adding there are still talks on the price of treatment. He added new treatments will first target patients whose state is more severe and who don’t have other types of treatment available. (Romania Libera)