Ponta Says Tariceanu Should Be Prime Minister If He Is Elected President
Prime Minister Victor Ponta said Tuesday after a coalition meeting he will propose Calin Popescu Tariceanu for prime minister if he is elected president on November 16.
Ponta said he does not rule out the possibility of appointing technocrat prime minster such as central bank deputy governor Florin Georgescu if the country has economic problems, or intelligence service chief George Maior if the country faces security issues. He added his first choice for prime minister is Tariceanu. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Foreign Minister Proposes Simplified Voting Procedures For Romanian Expats
Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean said Tuesday he has proposed simplified requirements for people voting outside their assigned polling station, after thousands of expat Romanians were unable to vote because of time-consuming procedures and insufficient voting booths.
Corlatean also said he proposed the establishment of a larger number of voting booths where the space allows it. (Adevarul)
Tax Authority Warns Taxpayers Of Text Message Fraud Scheme
Romania’s tax authority ANAF warns taxpayers of potential fraud via text message and asks recipients of such texts to contact authorities to clarify their situation.
ANAF said taxpayers have been receiving text messages, seemingly from the tax authority, informing them that they owe taxes and providing a phone number for them to call to allegedly obtain a payment scheduling and avoid having their accounts blocked.
The tax authority said this is a fraud attempt and taxpayers should address their local tax office for clarification. (Romania Libera)
EU Cuts Romania GDP Growth Forecast To 2% In 2014
The European Commission expects Romania’s economy to grow only 2% in 2014, a significant cut from a 2.8% estimated in June, due to a strong slowdown in the second quarter.
“The pace of real GDP growth slowed down from 3.5% in 2013 to 2.4% year-on-year in the first half of 2014, largely due to a strong deceleration in the second quarter (1.2% y-o-y). Private consumption and net exports were the main drivers of growth while investments continued to contribute negatively (gross fixed capital formation dropped by 11.1% y-o-y in the first half of 2014),” the Commission said in its autumn forecast. (Adevarul)