Finance Minister Adrian Câciu announced on Saturday that inflation in Romania would be a single-digit figure at the end of 2023, estimating that it could reach 8%. He indicated that the situation of public finances was better than in the same period of 2022 and that Romania had more money than generally believed. This includes money from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), among other things, the minister added.
Liberal MP Raluca Turcan announced, while on an official visit to Sibiu that the National Liberal Party (PNL) was proposing an alternative measure to the controversial introduction of a 1% turnover tax, namely a reduced tax of 10% for the declared excess profit (related to the previous year’s profit), and a 16% tax for the rest of the gain. She added that this proposal encouraged economic operators to declare their profits in their entirety and stimulated companies to pay their tax obligations on time.
The number of companies with foreign capital newly established in Romania grew by 8.9% in January 2023 compared to the first month of 2022, to 479 units, according to data centralized by the National Trade Registry Office (ONRC). The 479 new companies had a total subscribed share capital of USD 2.31 million, 60.9% higher than the one recorded by companies registered in January 2022, which had amounted to USD 1.43 million.
A total of 168 bank branches and agencies closed in 2022, while the number of employees was 218 higher than at the end of 2021. The pace of restructuring in banks has slowed in the past year, according to data from the National Bank of Romania (NBR). As a comparison, a total of 180 branches and bank agencies were closed and 1,011 employees left the system in 2021.
Voluntary pension funds had RON 3.77 billion assets at the end of January, up by 9.85% year-on-year, according to a report published by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF). Most investments were made locally (94%), the majority having been RON-denominated ones (90%), the report indicated. Government securities had the biggest share in assets, followed by stocks. Voluntary pension funds had 630,623 participants in January 2023, according to ASF.
The net assets of local open-end investment funds stood at around RON 15 billion in January, up by 0.67% against the previous month, according to a report drawn up by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF). At the end of January 2023, the net assets corresponding to all categories of open-end investment funds grew compared to the previous month (except for the "other funds" category).
EDP, the parent company of EDPR also present in Romania, has announced an ambitious investment plan worth EUR 25 billion by 2026, of which EUR 21 billion will be allocate to new renewable sources and EUR 4 billion will target electricity networks, representing a gross annual investment of around EUR 6.2 billion, 30% higher than the previous business plan. The deployment of renewable energy sources will increase to 4.5 GW per year, totaling gross additions of 18 GW by 2026.
The Ministry of Development has announced that Minister Cseke Attila has signed 63 new contracts for the financing of road, water and sewerage projects under the "Anghel Saligny" National Investment Program, worth RON 639 million altogether. The number of contracts signed so far under this program has reached 626, their total value being almost RON 6.5 billion. A contract signed with Botoșani County Council has the highest value among the newly signed contracts.
January 6 and 7, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and St. John the Baptist, have been declared legal holidays, as per a law promulgated by President Klaus Iohannis on Friday. According to the presidential administration, President Iohannis signed the decree on the promulgation of the law completing Article 139 of the Labor Code. The draft law had been initiated by the president of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Marcel Ciolacu and by the leader of PSD deputies Alfred Simonis, and had been adopted by the Chamber of Deputies last month.
President Klaus Iohannis has promulgated the law according to which military flights of NATO member states are exempted from the payment of tariffs for navigation or airport services, without the need for bilateral or multilateral agreements or treaties between Romania and the allied states. The normative act aims to approve Government Emergency Ordinance 17/2022 amending and completing Law 21/2020 on the Air Code.
Save Romania Union (USR) has submitted, upon Senator Silvia Dinică’s initiative, two draft laws aimed at making vocational training and qualification courses that do not require practical training more accessible to Romanians. In this way, more and more people will be able to participate in such courses, choosing the most convenient way for them, i.e. online or with physical attendance. Only 4.9% of Romanians attended vocational training courses in 2021.
In an interview with EURACTIV, EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit announced that the Commission would come forward with a legislative proposal to amend the European Works Council (EWC) Directive by the end of 2023. This comes in the wake of the European Parliament passing an own-initiative report in early February, which called for a review of the directive that regulates the European Works Councils.
Labor Minister Marius Budăi said on Saturday that the minimum wage must continue to grow, adding however that this increase cannot take place overnight as it would affect the business sector’s business plans. As for the public sector wage law, the Labor Minister said it was in progress and that talks were being held with each ministry. Moreover an impact analysis is being conducted together with the World Bank.