Romania Simplifies Child Adoption Procedures
All procedures needed to adopt a child will be simplified starting 2016, according to a bill approved by the government.
The measures, which target mainly children aged 0 to 6, will become effective as of next year, four months from publishing the decision in the Official Journal.
The bill eliminates a series of procedures making child adoptions difficult. Thus, the refusal of biological parents to show up in court twice, in case of a request for adoption, will automatically mean the respective child is available for adoption. If parents or relatives up to the fourth degree of a child under the state’s protection cannot be tracked down within 6 months, then the adoption procedures can be set off. Adoption procedures may also start if the biological parents or relatives are tracked down and refuse to provide care for the respective child and they also sign the declarations allowing the child to become available for adoption.
Romania has approximately 62,000 institutionalized children. There are 4,060 children available for adoption, of whom 3,439 are eligible for national adoption and the remainder for international adoption. (Jurnalul National)
Tax On Buildings To Be Computed Depending On Building Use
Romania’s new Tax Code sets that the tax on buildings will be computed depending on what a building is used for, namely, for residential or non-residential purposes, and not depending on owners (private individuals or legal entities).
Starting January 1, 2016, private individuals owning non-residential buildings, used for business purposes, such as company headquarters, retail space or office buildings, will pay double or even ten times the amount paid currently. (Curierul National)
Prices Of New Apartments In Bucharest, Mainly With 2 And 3 Rooms, Grew In September
Prices of new apartments in capital Bucharest grew in September this year, compared to the same month in 2014 and to August 2015, and the apartments with two and three rooms saw the highest price increases, according to real estate website imobiliare.net.
The average sale price of studio flats in Bucharest, built after 2010, is EUR33,718 in September, compared to EUR32,800 in the same month in 2014 and to EUR33,496 in August 2015.
The average sale price of two-room apartments built after 2010 is EUR57.054 in September, compared to EUR54,547 in the same period in 2014 and to EUR56,628 in August 2015.
The average sale price of new three-room apartments reaches EUR94,660 in September, compared to EUR90,351 in the same month in 2014 and to EUR92,964 in August 2015. (Puterea)
Several Senators Put Forward Bill Banning Communist Parties
Several senators of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) put forward a bill banning communist organizations.
Setting up this type of organizations will be punishable by five to ten years in prison, according to the bill.
“The purpose of the ban is to prevent the re-instauration in Romania of the totalitarian communist regime which had functioned locally between 1945 and 1989. It was the worst political regime in postwar Europe – whose official victim numbers range between 500,000 and 2,000,000, a record high in ratio with the country’s population, ” as per the bill.
The bill sets punishments of 3 to 6 years in prison for adhesion to a communist party, of 5 to 10 years for setting up a communist party, and of 2 to 4 years for supporting such a party. (Puterea)
Liberals To Submit No-Confidence Motion Against Ponta Cabinet Monday
The National Liberal Party will submit a no-confidence motion against the government run by Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Monday, arguing his Cabinet lacks credibility considering that Ponta was indicted on charges of accessory to fraud and tax evasion.
The opposition needs 275 votes in favor of the motion to topple the Ponta Cabinet.
Ponta has been indicted on charges of accessory to tax evasion and money laundering and 17 counts of forgery. Anticorruption prosecutors said in June they were investigating Ponta on several counts of fraud relating to the defrauding of state energy companies Turceni and Rovinari back in 2007 and 2008.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis called on Ponta to resign, as his indictment hurts the country’s image. (Adevarul)