CFR Marfa Privatization Contract To Be Signed After CSAT Meeting
The contract to sell a majority stake in Romania’s state-owned freight railway carrier CFR Marfa will be signed after the country’s high defense body CSAT endorses it, possibly in September, and the privatization procedure will be completed in 60 days, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said.
The Government on Wednesday approved the contract by which private railway company Grup Feroviar Roman (GFR) takes over 51% of CFR Marfa. The prime minister said the document would be sent to CSAT.
“If CSAT rejects the contract, it will not be signed,” Ponta said. (Adevarul)
Romania Must Stimulate Sustainable Economic Growth – Isarescu
Romania must intensify efforts to stimulate the development of both human and natural resources and ensure sustainable economic growth, said central bank governor Mugur Isarescu.
“Romania’s main objective in the near term is to ensure a moderate, balanced and sustainable economic growth that would create new jobs,” Isarescu told a round table organized by the central bank. “Sustainability is the key word.”
The central bank’s chief said Romania is faced with a major imbalance regarding the ratio between the number of active employees and the number of retirees, an imbalance that could be fixed by expanding the pool of taxpayers in the social security system. (Adevarul)
Bucharest Mayor Sorin Oprescu Unhappy With Regionalization
Romania’s administrative regionalization process, of which deputy prime minister Liviu Dragnea is in charge, is upsetting more and more local mayors, including Bucharest general mayor Sorin Oprescu.
Oprescu criticized Dragnea for recent statements that the Bucharest-Ilfov area, Romania’s current capital, could be included in a wider region with the capital in Ploiesti.
Oprescu said it is inadmissible to tamper with a country’s capital city, which produces 25% of Romania’s GDP, and it is impossible to make a capital disappear through a political decision. (Curentul)
Around 10,000 State Employees Could Be Laid Off
The Government has prepared layoffs for public servants which could affect around 4% of staff, or 6,000 employees, according to trade unions.
According to local media, layoffs are being performed discreetly, slashing a few occupied positions in each institution to avoid creating a critical mass of disgruntled employees.
The government adopted a decree at the end of June eliminating vacant positions in central and local administration and laying off 4% of employees in several ministries and related institutions. (Curentul)
Adrian Nastase Let Off With Fine For Unauthorized Possession Of Ammunition
Former prime minister Adrian Nastase has been cleared of further prosecution for non-observance of the regime of arms and ammunition.
Prosecutors opened a criminal file on Nastase the night he attempted suicide before he was to be jailed for corruption. Investigators found ammunitions in Nastase’s home for which he did not have permits.
Investigators decided to let him off with a fine. (Adevarul)