Ponta Agrees With Iohannis On Refugee Issue
Prime Minister Victor Ponta said Tuesday he agrees with President Klaus Iohannis on the matter of refugees.
Ponta said Romania can take in a maximum 1,780 refugees, despite quotas the EU seeks to impose.
“The stance expressed by President Iohannis is that of the Romanian state, agreed with institutions and the government, and Mr. Iohanins said very clearly, we can only take in maximum 1,785 people,” said Ponta. (Puterea)
Remus Cernea Plans To Run For Bucharest Mayor
Independent MP Remus Cernea said Tuesday he plans to run for Bucharest City Hall if he has the support of citizens and certain political parties.
“I will run wither independently or backed by one or more parties, that has yet to be determined,” said Cernea.
Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu has been placed under preventive arrest for bribe taking. (Romania Libera)
Malta, Czech Republic, Romania Post Biggest Economic Growth in EU
Malta, Czech Republic and Romania posted the biggest economic growth in the European Union in the second quarter, Eurostat data showed.
In April-June 2015, GDP growth stood at 1.9% in the EU and at 1.5% in the eurozone, from growth of 1.7% and 1.2%, respectively, in the first quarter.
The biggest economic growth was registered in Malta (4.8%), Czech Republic (4.4%) and Romania (3.7%). All EU states posted growth in the second quarter, except Finland, which posted zero growth. (Puterea)
Interests On Loans Pick Up After Long Period Of Decline
After a long period of decline, interests on loans have started picking up again, slowing down lending growth.
The good news is overdue loans are decreasing and local banks are still well capitalized.
Private lending has slowed its growth in July but volumes remain considerably higher than a year ago, according to central bank data. (Romania Libera)
Cluj Overtakes Bucharest In Apartment Prices In August
Apartments in Cluj Napoca became the most expensive in Romania in August, outranking Bucharest apartments, after an 11% annual increase of the asking price, according to a study of real estate website imobiliare.ro.
Asking prices countrywide rose 4.7% compared with EUR907 per square meter 12 months ago, while Cluj outranked Bucharest in a top of the most expensive cities. Timisoara registered the fastest annual growth rate, of 11.4%.
After 0.5% price hike in June and 1.2% price increase in July, Imobiliare.ro index shows a 0.6% price increase in August, from EUR944 to EUR950/sqm – while certain segments registered price decreases in August.
“With an annual asking price increase of 11%, Cluj-Napoca apartments became the most expensive in the country. The price of an old 50 sqm two-room apartment (…) is higher by EUR3,900 in Cluj than in Bucharest. For a one-room apartment, the price difference reaches approximately EUR2,300, while for a 75 sqm three-room apartment, Cluj citizens pay EUR6,000 more than Bucharest citizens,” said Adrian Erimescu, Imobiliare.ro general manager.
In August, apartment prices in Bucharest rose an average 0.8% on the month, from EUR1,077 per square meter to EUR1,086/sqm, and 0.9% compared with August 2014. (Evenimentul Zilei)