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| THE WEEK IN REVIEW 29/06- 5/07/ 2009 |
| (2009-07-03) |
| Last updated: 2009-07-06 13:23 EET |
Romania has met its targeted budget deficit level of 2.7% of the Gross Domestic Product, which it set together with the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission for the first 6 months of the year, said prime minister Emil Boc 6 months after his government came to power. He added that the measures taken by his cabinet have helped keep in check the consequences of the economic crisis. 56,000 businesses would have otherwise been forced to go bankrupt if the government had not made the decision to postpone their debts to the state budget. The authorities’ optimistic forecasts about the recovery of the economy in the second quarter of the year are not, however, shared by the business community and the National Bank of Romania. Worried about the deterioration of the country’s economy, the National Bank has taken measures to encourage economic activities and loans. The central bank has lowered the monetary policy interest rate from 9.5 to 9%. The National Bank governor Mugur Isarescu says regaining confidence and resuming economic growth on healthy foundations are essential for Romania’s stepping out of the current crisis. He added that his bank managed to ensure liquidities, stabilise the hard currency exchange rate and keep inflation under control. Isarescu advised, however, against the rise of the VAT tax and the flat income tax.
As of July the 1st, the cost of mobile phone calls, text messages and accessing Internet is 60% cheaper for Romanians travelling abroad. A roaming call now costs 43 eurocents per minute, while a text message costs 11 eurocents. Incoming roaming calls cost 19 eurcents per minute. July the 1st also saw the reduction of gas prices in Romania by 5%. On the other hand, excises for cigarettes are going up by 7 euros for 1,000 cigarettes. So far, a pack of cigarettes used to cost less than 2 euros.
Romania’s military participation in Iraq as of July the 1st will come to an end, said Romania’s president Traian Basescu. The withdrawal of all Romanian troops is scheduled to end on the 25th of July. Basescu also said that in 2010, the number of Romanian soldiers in Afghanistan will go up by approximately 100. The number of troops which Bucharest plans to put at NATO’s disposal in foreign missions will decrease by 400 to almost 1700.
Together with the United States, Romania is holding the joint chairmanship of the NATO Senior Defence Group on non-proliferation. The group is the alliance’s political and military body in charge of coordinating specific activities in the field. Its role within NATO has become increasingly important against the backdrop of a rise in risk and of asymmetric conflict.
11,000 staff working in Romanian prisons went on a warning strike on Tuesday. Their next move is to picket the justice ministry building and suspend their activities on a temporary basis. The prison staff are complaining about the under-financing of the system which results in the worsening of work conditions and salaries. Prison guards say work-related illnesses are another problem ignored by the authorities.
On Wednesday, railway traffic in Romania was blocked in several important railway junctions across the country by protesters from the Romanian Freight Railway Company who were unhappy with the delays in the payment of their salaries. The protest started one day after their employers announced that as of July the 1st, 7,000 employees would go on temporary 3 month lay offs in turns. The Freight Railway Company is facing a drastic decrease in orders, and has outstanding debts of 24 million euros.
The Romanian Dacia car factory in Mioveni, in the south, celebrated on the 2nd of July the 10th anniversary of its take-over by the French group Renault. According to data provided by the company, in these last ten years, Dacia has become Romania’s biggest exporter of industrial goods, since 80% of its output is aimed at the foreign market. The Dacia Logan model, the company’s best known model internationally is marketed in 60 states on 4 continents. Renault has invested 1.5 billion euros in Romania, 10 times more than it had initially planned.
The third edition of the B’estfest music festival is under way in Romania from the 1st to the 5th of July. The organisers are expecting 70,000 people to attend the acts lined up for the event. The highlight of the first day of the festival was the famous American band The Killers. Other big names in the festival are Santana, The Charlatans, Ayo, Motorhead, Orbital and Franz Ferdinand. The B’estfest budget is estimated at 3.3 million euros.
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