Simona Halep Reaches Quarter-Finals Of French Open
Simona Halep darted into the fourth round at Roland Garros 2014 after beating Spain’s Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor 6-3 6-0.
Halep, the world No. 4, is the highest seed left and the second favorite for the title behind Maria Sharapova despite only having reached one grand slam quarter-final.
Halep will face her first real test in the next round against 15th seed Sloane Stephens, for a place in the last eight. (Romania Libera)
Changes In Management Structure Of Financial Supervisory Authority
Romania’s Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) will have a new management structure starting October 1, 2014.
The number of managers will be reduced by 35%, by eliminating the positions of department heads who report to vice-presidents and deputy managers and by merging the consumer protection departments.
The changes in the organizational structure are meant to turn ASF into a more flexible and efficiency-oriented institution. (Puterea)
Romania Energy Watchdog: Utility Pole Tax To Raise Electric Bills
Romania’s energy watchdog ANRE said household electricity bills could rise by 1% to 2% following the introduction of a new tax on special constructions, which includes utility poles.
“The law says that all costs are reflected in the final tariff,” ANRE’s vice-president Niculae Havrilet told the Mediafax Talks about Energy conference.
Havrilet couldn’t give an exact figure for the estimated impact of the new tax on the electricity bills, but said energy tariffs could increase as early as July 1. He said power suppliers have yet to notify ANRE on their intent to include the costs in the end bills.
The Finance Ministry recently introduced a new tax on special constructions, equal to 1.5% of the construction’s value. The ministry estimates it will collect at least 1 billion lei (EUR227 million) from the newly introduced tax, double from RON500 million initially projected. (Adevarul)
PM Ponta Says Public Servants Backed By Liberals Will Not Be Sacked
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said public servants backed by the National Liberal Party (PNL) will not be sacked following the split of the country’s ruling Social Liberal Union (USL) at the end of February.
The ruling coalition USL broke up after the liberals voted to withdraw their ministers from the cabinet. The rupture came after months of political bickering between the liberals and the leftist social democrats. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Crin Antonescu No Longer Runs For President Of Romania
The outgoing leader of the National Liberal Party, Crin Antonescu, has recently said he will no longer run for President of Romania at the presidential elections due in November this year.
Antonescu said that even if he is not running for president and will no longer head the Liberal Party, he can guarantee the party’s name and identity shall not be altered under any circumstances. (Adevarul)