President Iohannis: Energy Independence Is Essential For Romania
President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday, at the presidential Cotroceni palace, after welcoming a delegation of oil company OMV Petrom, that the energy independence and security are essential objectives for Romania.
“Romania’s President emphasized the fact that the energy independence and security are essential for Romania in a European context of an integrated market based on free access, competition and competitiveness,” the presidential administration said in a statement.
According to the statement, talks also focused on the “special potential” of the collaboration between OMV and ExxonMobil regarding hydrocarbon exploitation in the Black Sea and on renewing the commitment for cooperation and dialog between OMV and the Romanian state. (Adevarul)
PNL Co-chair Alina Gorghiu Said She Wants Dacian Ciolos In PNL Team
PNL co-chair Alina Gorghiu stated Tuesday that she wants Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos in PNL team if the party wins the elections and gets the governing.
“The PM said very clearly that he does not want to become the member of a political party and we completely respect his decision. This does not mean that we could not identify ourselves in a subsequent governing formula with Mr. Ciolos. I don’t exclude such a perspective. For me, Mr. Ciolos is a statesman who I am watching with great consideration, and who I want in PNL team,” Alina Gorghiu told Digi 24 TV station.
Gorghiu added that, in her opinion, none of the parties will manage to win the elections with over 50% of the votes. At the same time, PNL head excluded a governing jointly with PSD party. (Romania Libera)
Only One In Five Romanians Has Mandatory Home Insurance
The Insurance Pool against Natural Disasters (PAID), the institution which sells mandatory home insurances on the Romanian market, warns that only one in five Romanians has mandatory home insurance, in the context of the recent earthquakes in Italy and Romania.
Although the tariffs for mandatory home insurances are very low in Romania, less than 20% of the 8.9 million homes have such an insurance, according to PAID.
According to statistic data, the number of mandatory home insurances rose 14.49% to 1.73 million at the end of August, 2016, from 1.5 million a year before.
In Bucharest, 38.51% of homes are covered by mandatory home insurance, mostly due to the fact that many homes have been lately acquired with bank loans. (Puterea)
Competition Council Clears Takeover Of 78 Reteta Pharmacies By Sensiblu
Romania’s Competition Council on Tuesday said it approved the takeover of 78 Reteta pharmacies from Sibpharmamed SRL (Polisano group) by retail pharmacy chain Sensiblu.
The pharmacies acquired from Polisano are in 41 localities: Alba Iulia, Arad, Bacau, Baia Mare, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti, Buzau, Buzias, Caransebes, Cluj-Napoca, Constanța, Craiova, Deva, Dorohoi, Focsani, Galați, Gheorgheni, Hunedoara, Iasi, Ineu, Medias, Mures, Oradea, Orastie, Petrosani, Piatra Neamț, Pitesti, Resița, Satu Mare, Sebes, Sibiu, Slatina, Targoviste, Targu Mures, Timisoara, Tulcea, Turda, Vaslui, Vulcan, Zalau.
Sensiblu, part of A&D Pharma group, reported a turnover of RON1.2 billion (EUR270 million) in 2015, similar with the previous year’s level, and a net profit of RON31 million (EUR7 million), according to Finance Ministry data. Sensiblu network currently exceeds 400 pharmacies. (Romania Libera)
Engie Romania Severely Affected By RADET-ELCEN Insolvency
The insolvencies of state-run electricity and thermal power producer Electrocentrale Bucuresti (ELCEN) and heating distributor RADET have domino effects over the companies in the energy sector, jeopardizing not only the financial stability of their business partners but also the heating supply for Bucharest citizens.
ENGIE Romania, the former GDF SUEZ Energy Romania, the largest local natural gas distributor, said that the decision regarding the insolvency of ELCEN was made without consulting the parties involved, adding that the decision could affect the investments necessary for the safe exploitation of the natural gas network.
According to sources on the energy market, by deciding on RADET-ELCEN insolvencies, the authorities were trying to solve certain financial issues, but they created other, much more serious problems. (Puterea)