Ponta Says Will Quit Party Leader Position To Face Investigation
Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta has said he would stand down as leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party until prosecutors have completed a criminal investigation against him.
Ponta said on Facebook, in a letter addressed to senior party members, he has decided to hold no positions within the party until he proves his innocence.
Ponta is under investigation by the anticorruption department on allegations of forgery, money laundering and tax evasion and has refused to step down from the position of prime minister. (Adevarul)
President Iohannis Calls On Parliament To Reexamine Special Pension Law
President Klaus Iohannis has called on the Parliament to reexamine the law that gives lawmakers special pensions upon retirement.
Iohannis said the law must be reexamined due to the excessive and arbitrary nature of the new pension to benefit deputies and senators. The measure would benefit lawmakers indicted for corruption and those whose terms were interrupted over incompatibilities with public office.
Iohannis said the similarities drawn by Parliament between lawmakers and magistrates to justify special pensions are far-fetched, as magistrates constitute a professional body whose special rights are grounded in career-long contributions. (Puterea)
Opposition Leader Calls On Ponta To Quit Government
Liberal Party co-president Alina Gorghiu said Sunday Prime Minister Victor Ponta’s announcement that he is quitting positions within his political party is just a diversion to buy himself more time.
“I think it’s a diversion to appease public pressure. If he were really concerned with how the party is affected, he would have resigned a month ago, when anticorruption prosecutors announced he was being investigated. He now wants to give the impression he is doing the honorable thing but he’s only buying some time,” she said.
“The honorable thing to do is resign from the position of prime minister, he owes it to Romanians,” Gorghiu said, adding Ponta hurts the country’s credibility more as prime minister than as party leader. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Statistics Show Food Prices Increased Ahead Of VAT Rate Cut
Officials statistics show the prices of food items were increased in April and May ahead of a VAT rate cut in June, giving the illusion that the rate cut lowered prices.
The suspicion that retailers took advantage of the rate cut to keep profit margins and prices virtually unchanged has been confirmed as the National Statistics Institute released inflation data for June.
In April, when the government announced it would lower the VAT rate on food to 9% from 24%, food prices rose 0.33% compared to March and 0.32% compared to April 2014. In May, food prices increased 0.75% compared to April and 1.2% compared to May 2014. In June, when the VAT rate was cut, food prices dropped 8.33% compared to May and 6.44% compared to June 2014. (Adevarul)
Second Hand Car Registrations Rose 14% In 1H
Registrations of second-hand cars increased 14% in the first half of the year, to 112,444 units, from 98,633 units in the same period last year, according to the Interior Ministry’s vehicle license and registration department.
Romanians’ favorite second hand car remains Volkswagen, with 32,078 units registered in the first half (+15.98%), followed by Opel with 19,454 units (+9.43%), Ford with 12,998 units (+13.11%) and BMW with 7,813 units (+24.09%).
Registrations of second-hand locally made Dacia cars totaled 771 units in the first half of the year.
At the end of 2014, Romania’s car park had reached 6.27 million units. (Puterea)