Asphalt Resurfacing Ongoing On Arad-Timisoara Highway
Asphalt resurfacing works on the highway liking the western Romanian cities of Arad and Timisoara, which was opened to traffic in December 2011, have already started and police officers have imposed speed limits on the sections under repair.
Highway police officers imposed speed limits of 60 and 80 kilometers per hour on the highway sections under resurfacing and repaving works.
Works on the 32-km highway started in the summer of 2009. The highway is part of the fourth pan-European transport corridor and it was built by the consortium of FCC Construccion and Astaldi for EUR135.43 million. (Curentul)
New Environmental Tax Hinders Used Car Registrations
Registrations of used cars and vehicles transferred from leasing companies to their users are hindered because authorities require vouchers as proof of payment of previous car taxes.
Under the law regulating the new environmental tax, the car registration tax cannot be collected on lack of vouchers proving the payment of previous car taxes.
The country’s tax authority ANAF said it does not have a nominal record on car tax payments made in the past years, arguing its duty was to collect the taxes, not hold a record in this respect. (Curentul)
Romania’s First-Quarter GDP Dynamics Hard To Interpret
The dynamics of Romania’s first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) is difficult to be interpreted as the beginning of a long-term economic growth revival, given that short-term indicators still point to a contrary conclusion, the Fiscal Council said.
Also, the evolution of the gross domestic product, excluding the agriculture (a less volatile measure of the economic growth) points to a deceleration of the economic activity in the first quarter of 2013. The quarterly increase of this aggregate is the lowest in the last five quarters. (Curentul)
Senate Adopts Memorandum Between Government And Rompetrol
The Romanian Senate has adopted the Memorandum of Understanding between the Romanian Government and oil group Rompetrol, which will be sent to President Traian Basescu for promulgation.
The memorandum stipulates the state will receive $200 million following the buyback of a 26.69% stake in Rompetrol Rafinare by Kazakh state-owned company KazMunayGas. Following the transaction, Romania will control an 18% stake in Rompetrol Rafinare, which it may sell three years after the deal is completed.
In February this year, Rompetrol signed an agreement with Romania’s industry privatization office OPSPI pledging to buy back an unspecified stake in its unit Rompetrol Rafinare.
The Senate was decider on the matter. (Adevarul)
Ruling Coalition Heavyweights Negotiate On New Constitution
Victor Ponta and Crin Antonescu, leaders of the ruling Social Liberal Union (USL), have managed to agree on several amendments to the country’s new Constitution.
Following the agreement between Ponta and Antonescu, the Social Democratic Party has secured the position of prime minister after the presidential elections due in 2014, even if liberal head Crin Antonescu is elected President.
The ruling coalition USL is made up of the Social Democratic Party, headed by Ponta, the National Liberal Party, run by Antonescu, and the Conservative Party, headed by Daniel Constantin. (Adevarul)