TI Report: 27% Of Romanians Admit Giving Bribes For Healthcare
More than a quarter of Romanians, or 27%, said they had bribed the medical staff and 65% of respondents said corruption, in general, has spread far more over the past two years, according to a report released Tuesday by Transparency International.
As regards corruption perception, Romania is ranked sixth, after Portugal, France, Cyprus, Spain and Great Britain, and places above the EU average of 52%.
According to the report, 27% of respondents said the level of corruption is the same, while 8% of them believe corruption has decreased.
Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index ranks countries according to their perceived levels of public-sector corruption, drawing on different assessments and business opinion surveys carried out by independent and reputable institutions including the World Bank and World Economic Forum. (Curentul)
Court Imposes RON400,000 Fine On Bucharest Maternity Hospital
A Bucharest court has fined the Giulesti maternity hospital RON400,000 in the case involving a fire at the maternity in 2010 which resulted in the deaths of six premature newborns and severe injury of five others.
Nurse Florentina Cirstea, who was on duty on August 16, 2010 when a fire broke out at the hospital’s intensive care unit for premature babies, was sentenced to two years and two months in prison
The hospital’s former manager Bogdan Marinescu was fined RON6,500, while the former head of the neonatology department, Adrian Ioan Toma, was cleared of charges.
The court ruling may be appealed. (Adevarul)
Survey: Personal, Rapid and First Home Loans Are The Most Popular Banking Products
Personal loans (37.3%), rapid loans (16.5%) and loans granted via the state-guaranteed First Home mortgage lending program (10%) were the most popular banking products in the April-June period, according to a survey by financial web portal Efin.ro.
The survey shows that 84.24% of the people who applied for a banking product had already contracted other loans and were paying their loan installments in due time. Nearly 40% of them have job seniority of six months to three years. (Azi)
Government Keen On Lowering VAT On Bread To 9%
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said the Government is looking for ways and resources to cut VAT on bread from 24% to 9%.
Ponta also said the measures aimed at cutting the VAT on bread to 9% might be adopted during the Parliament’s summer recess, through simple ordinance, after analyzing the economic results for the first half of the year.
Mid-May, Ponta said the government would have to allot RON250 million for the project aimed at reducing the VAT on bread starting July 1, 2013. Earlier this year, he said the project is meant to show if the VAT cut would reduce tax evasion in the bread industry and increase sales. (Adevarul)
PM Says Government Reshuffle Likely In Fall
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said some of his Cabinet ministers might be replaced this fall after evaluating the activity of all ministers at the end of August.
Ponta does not rule out the possibility of a wider reshuffle after evaluating ministers’ activity.
The prime minister recently said the evaluation is highly necessary in order to correct any potential mistakes and make changes, if necessary. (Gandul)
Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean Meets With Russian Counterpart
Romania’s Foreign Affairs Minister Titus Corlatean and his Russian counterpart Serghei Lavrov on Tuesday talked about securing positive bilateral ties between the two countries and overcoming any tensions or obstacles that may have occurred over the past years.
Lavrov said Russia sees Romania as an important partner in South East Europe and wants bilateral ties to develop “in a stable and predictable way.” (Evenimentul Zilei)