Romanian Government Passes New Pensions Bill
The Romanian Government passed a decree enacting a new pensions bill during its Wednesday meeting. The bill includes a new calculation method for pensions, which Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said that would gradually increase the value of pension points.
Government sources told MEDIAFAX that the bill received a favorable review from the country’s Economic and Social Council.
Prime Minister Dancila said that at the beginning of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting that bill would rise the value of the pension point up to RON1,265 in 2019, RON1,775 in 2020 and RON1,875 in 2021.
“This bill is complex, it is based on solid principles, which can be sustained by the budget and for which we consulted with both patronages and unions,” said the Romanian prime minister.
The bill also included amendments brought on Tuesday following negotiations with unions, through which the reference value point – a new value introduced in the calculation formula by the bill – would rise according to both inflation and the gross median income registered in the country.
It also grants an earlier retirement age for individuals working in abnormal conditions.
“No pension will be lowered following the recalculation. The standard age of retirement will remain the same, as will the contribution service,” Labor Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu stated following the cabinet meeting.
The bill was launched into public debate by the Labor Ministry in August. (puterea.ro)
Ruling Coalition MP: Investors Do Not Agree With Additional Income Tax In Offshore Bill
The leader of ruling coalition party ALDE’s group in Romania’s Lower Chamber, Varujan Vosganian, said on Wednesday that representatives of resource companies did not agree with the additional income tax stipulated by the pending offshore bill.
The statement was made following a meeting between Parliament groups and representatives of major oil companies such as Exxon and OMV on the subject of the bill, which will regulate offshore gas exploitation in the Black Sea.
“They raised objections on the additional income tax, let’s not hide this. For them it’s an expression of fiscal instability. We say that it’s a legal corroboration of a reality, because the moment you liberalize gas prices you also end the system of limiting gas prices, bringing significant additional profits to the gas industry,” said Vosganian following the end of the meeting.
The ALDE MP said that he proposed a compromise solution, of assuming the fact that the bill will not be amended for the entire period the companies will have exploitation contracts, which could be until 2028.
He added that this was the first time that representatives of all parliamentary groups took part in a discussion regarding a bill, calling the meeting “historical”.
The meeting lasted more than two hours, with political sources telling MEDIAFAX that company representatives were prepared with amendments to the bill. (romanialibera.ro)
Leu Appreciates Further Vs Euro
The Romanian leu appreciated further against the euro Wednesday, to a midday reference rate of 4.6628 lei/euro, from Tuesday’s rate of 4,6668 lei/euro.
The leu also gained ground to the US dollar, standing at 4.0590 units Wednesday, compared with 4.0705 units Tuesday. (romanialibera.ro)