PM: Credibility Of Political Parties Depends On Their Program, Not Only Their Speech
Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos stated that the credibility of political parties depends on their programs and the lists they submit, not only on the speeches of their presidents.
Ciolos also explained why he decided not to run for parliamentary elections. “I believe Romania needs a change in how people go in for politics. This change cannot be made by a single person, so that people who want that change should get involved. (…) I got involved last November, taking on this PM position. At that time, I said I would not run for parliamentary elections in order to maintain the credibility of a balanced approach of this government. It does not mean I don’t care what happens at the parliamentary elections,” the PM said. (Puterea)
MEP Monica Macovei Says Romania Needs Anti-Bribery Law ASAP
MEP Monica Macovei stated that Romania needs an anti-bribery law that would be adopted as soon as possible.
“An anti-bribery law should be adopted in Romania as soon as possible. It needs to be adopted right away to stop the fraud on the central budget and on the budgets of the city halls countrywide, which happened in the last 26 years and slowed down the development of the country and the establishing of the middle class and welfare in Romania,” Macovei stated.
The MEP added that corruption also needs to be hindered among private companies, so that Romania would have a healthy competition and economy that would not chase away serious investors. (Adevarul)
Number Of Debt Discharge Files Rose To 5,500 From 4,000 Last Month
One in five files submitted by Romanians resorting to the debt discharge law was accepted by the banks, according to the specialists interviewed by “Weekend Adevarul“.
The number of files submitted by clients who want to resort to the law on debt discharge has already increased to 5,500, according to the calculations of “Weekend Adevarul“. A month and a half ago, the National Bank of Romania announced that there were 4,000 files submitted by clients in relation with the law on debt discharge.
The law on debt discharge came into force on May 13, 2016 after the bill was signed into law by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and published in the Official Gazette. The law allows retail mortgage borrowers to return real estate collateral to banks in exchange for writing off their loans. (Adevarul)
Romanian Drugmakers Associations Want Clawback Tax Removed
The Romanian Association of International Drug Manufacturers (ARPIM) and the Romanian Association of Generic Medicine Manufacturers (APMGR) asked the government to consider the elimination of the clawback tax.
According to the representatives of the two associations, the elimination of the clawback tax would stop the disappearance of the medical drugs from the market. The access of patients to treatment is more and more difficult given a considerable fiscal pressure on drugmakers and the underfinancing of the healthcare system.
Between July 2015 and June 2016, the value of medicines released to patients in Romania reached RON11.94 billion, down 4.4% compared with the period from July 2014 to June 2015, according to a study of market research company Cegedim Romania. (Adevarul)
Protests Against Senator Gabriel Oprea
Hundreds of people gathered on Thursday evening in Bucharest, in front of the Romanian Parliament, as well as in other cities, protesting against the senators’ vote for not lifting the immunity of ex-Interior minister Gabriel Oprea.
National Anticorruption Department (DNA) has previously asked for the start of Oprea’s prosecution for involuntary manslaughter in the case of the death of policeman Bogdan Gigina.
Gabriel Oprea said that, at the time of the accident, Gigina, who was part of a motorcade accompanying him, was involved in the deadly accident due to a hole on the roadway, adding that the vehicle he was in did not exceed the legal speed. (Puterea)