Six Liberal MPs Quit Party To Join Tariceanu
Six liberal MPs, including former economy minster Andrei Gerea, announced their resignation from the Liberal party Sunday.
The MPs are leaving the party to join the organization to be set up by Calin Popescu Tariceanu, as they disagree with the party’s plan to merge with the Democratic Liberal Party.
The six outgoing liberal lawmakers are Andrei Gerea, Nicu Marcu, Viorel Teodorescu, Sorin Teju, Viorel Palasca and Nicolae Alexandri. Sources with the Liberal Party say several other MPs are going to join Tariceanu in the next period.
Tariceanu said Friday he will immediately start procedures to set up a new liberal party and collect signatures to run for president. (Jurnalul National)
Wages In Romania Are 13 Years Behind Poland
If Romania was on a par with Poland in 1989-1990, at least by GDP per capita, Romania is now five to 13 years behind Poland on the main indicators of economic and social conditions.
The biggest gap is in the gross average wage, according to a survey of Erste’s Research division. The current average gross wage in Romania is at around RON2,400, which is less than EUR550, while the average gross wage in Poland is at nearly EUR900.
Poland had Romania’s current average gross wage 13 years ago, explained BCR chief-economist Radu Craciun. Besides wages, Romania also lags behind in labor productivity, employment in agriculture and all macroeconomic indicators, the survey showed. (Adevarul)
Fiscal Council Says Loan Restructuring Scheme Could Have Much Lower Impact Than Expected
Romania’s Fiscal Council says the budget impact of the government’s loan restructuring scheme could be well below the Finance Ministry’s estimate of RON725.5 million in 2016 and RON757 million in 2017, as the measure is not attractive to most debtors.
The Council says it’s hard to estimate how many people would really benefit from the restructuring program, as this depends on debtors’ ability to pay back their loans and banks’ willingness to approve loan restructuring.
There is reasonable chance the legislative proposal will be less attractive to debtors with no delays on payments (around 90% of all eligible debtors have payment delays of less than 15 days), as they might not want to amass further debt, and more attractive to debtors who already register significant delays on payment, but still less than 90 days, which account for 10% of eligible debtors, the Fiscal Council said. (Curierul National)
Romanian Base In Kandahar Under Fire During Prime Minister’s Visit
The NATO military base in Kandahar, Afghanistan, was under fire Sunday during Prime Minister Victor Ponta’s visit, prompting security measures to shelter the officials and civilians present at the ceremony for the withdrawal of Romanian troops from Afghanistan.
Ponta visited the base in Kandahar Sunday, accompanied by defense Minister Mircea Dusa and deputy prime minster Gabriel Oprea. The alarm was sounded while the Romanian officials were having a meal with the troops. The officials and civilian members of the Romanian delegations were taken to bomb shelters in armored vehicles.
No one was injured and the official visit was resumed shortly. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Eight Major Infrastructure Projects Under Construction In Bucharest This Summer
Eight major infrastructure construction sites will be open in Bucharest during this summer, mayor Sorin Oprescu announced.
Oprescu said the city hall is also starting procedures for a technical project to build 100 kilometers of bike lanes in the capital city. (Jurnalul National)