Social Democratic Party Welcomes Maior’s Potential Return
A potential return of former secret service chief George Maior to the Social Democratic Party is welcomed by his former colleagues and sociologist Vasile Dancu, a former party member, believes Maior could reform the party.
Maior’s resignation from the helm of the intelligence service gave way to speculation about his potential return to the Social Democratic Party, which he left eight years ago, when he appointed the lead the secret service.
Social democrat senator Ioan Chelaru thinks Maior would be an asset to any party should he decide to pursue a political career. (Adevarul)
Former Minister Adriean Videanu Detained For Corruption
Former minister Adriean Videanu has been detained by the anticorruption department for accessory to abuse of office in one of the cases involving former DIICOT chief Alina Bica.
Anticorruption prosecutors also brought Elena Udrea in for hearings Thursday. She was accused of money laundering and false wealth statements regarding the Microsoft case.
Udrea was indicted for not mentioning loans granted by her former husband, Dorin Cocos, to one of his firms. Prosecutors argued Udrea must have known about the loans since she cashed dividends from that firm. (Puterea)
State Budget Spending Grew Abruptly In December, To More Than RON31B
State budget spending grew sharply in December 2014, totaling more than RON31 billion.
The biggest sums were allotted to social assistance programs and salary spending.
Budget spending grew from RON195.2 billion at the end of November to RON226.3 billion at the end of December, or 33.6% of GDP. Budget revenues totaled only RON213.8 billion (31.7% of GDP), resulting in a budget deficit of RON12.5 billion (1.85% of GDP), below the 2.2% deficit target agreed with the IMF. (Adevarul)
Romania’s Auto Market Grew In 2014 After Six Years Of Decline
Romania’s auto market grew in 2014 after six years of steep declines, witnessing a 21.5% increase in sales of cars and commercial vehicles, to 100,330 units, but sales are far from the record high in 2007.
Car production fell 4.8% on the year in 2014 and exports rose just 0.4%.
In 2014, 391,434 vehicles were made in Romania, 4.8% fewer than in 2013. Of those, 338,593 units (86.5%) were produced by Dacia, 52,829 (13.5%) by Ford and 12 units by Roman Brasov.
By model, the largest volumes in 2014 were registered by Dacia Duster (174,077 units), Dacia Logan (77,427 units), Ford B-MAX (52,829 units), Dacia Sandero (47,475 units) and Dacia Logan MCV (42,614 units). (Puterea)
Pump Prices Started Rising This Week
Fuel prices started rising this week, as all the oil companies operating in Romania raised their pump prices.
According to capital.ro, OMV Petrom, Rompetrol, Lukoil, Mol and the rest of the players on the Romanian market raised pump prices by up to RON0.06 – 0.06 per liter of gas.
There are currently very few stations in Romania where a liter of gas costs less than RON5. (Romania Libera)