FIC organized the event
with authorities and decision-makers regarding the main conclusions of
FIC analysis on waste management and possible measures for improvement.
FIC document is the result of the consultation with the most relevant
sectorial associations in the domain of waste management. We had the
pleasure to discuss with: Paris Nikolopoulos, Co-chair of FIC
Environment Task Force (General Manager, Coca-Cola Romania); Barna
Tánczos, Minister of Environment; Adrian Nicolae Raulea, State
Secretary, Ministry of Investment and European Projects; Ionel Tescaru,
President of the National Regulatory Authority for Community Public
Utility Services; Andrei Antipa, Vicepresident, the Administration for
the Environmental Fund; Florin Bănică, Deputy Commissioner-General, the
National Environmental Guard; Adrian Haralambie Bidu, Vicepresident,
the National Agency for Environmental Protection; Oana Ozmen, Member of
the Committee on Industries and Services, Chamber of Deputies, the
Romanian Parliament; Stelian Matei, Senior Advisor, Department for
Sustainable Development of the Government of Romania; Roxana Ionescu
(NNDKP) and Ovidiu Balaceanu (Deloitte), Coordinators of the FIC
working group on Waste Management. The following organizations were
part of the consultation process: AMRCR (Asociatia Marilor Retele
Comerciale din Romania), Asociația Națională pentru Băuturi
Răcoritoare, Asociatia Romana pentru Ambalaje si Mediu (ARAM),
Asociația Berarii României, Asociația OIREP Ambalaje, CleanRecycle,
Green Resources Management, ARCwaste Collection, Organizatia ECOTIC,
Environ, Reverse Logistics Group (RLG) Romania, SNRB, RER Group,
Uniunea Nationala a Transportatorilor Rutieri din Romania (UNTRR),
Circular Economy Coalition - CERC, CIROM.
The commitment of the Foreign
Investors Council (FIC) taken since 2013 to support the Romanian
medical system continues through the project “Leaders for Excellence in
Healthcare” (LEH), which consists of courses dedicated to the medical
personnel from the top management of hospitals in Romania. FIC
finalized the third edition of the project “Leaders for Excellence in
Healthcare”, which was organized between 13 – 28 October 2022. The
participants had the opportunity to learn new information from areas of
interest, interact with lecturers, share common experiences, find
solutions and answers to some problems they face in their activity. 70
participants from 50 hospitals in Bucharest and in the country, both
large hospitals and smaller hospitals with various specialties
participated in “Leaders for Excellence in Healthcare” 2019-2022.The
project was organized by the FIC in partnership with the Ministry of
Health of Romania, Maastricht University School of Business and
Economics and Sheffield Hallam University and with the support of the
Ministry of Investments and European Projects, the Health Commissions
of the Romanian Parliament (Chamber of Deputies and Senate), the
Presidential Advisor for Public Health, Dr. Diana Paun, and Ambassador
of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Romania, E.S. Roelof van Ees
(Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Romania).
Retail trade turnover (which closely approximates the evolution of
private consumption - the main component of GDP) grew by 4.5% in the
first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period of last year,
although its advance slowed down (from 4.8% in the first eight months
of 2022), according to data from the National Institute of Statistics
(INS). Fuel sales (which increased by 9.2%), followed by non-food
products (+4.3%) and sales of food, beverages and tobacco (+3.7%) were
the growth drivers.
Annual inflation rate is expected to grow moderately towards the end of
this year and then enter a gradual downward trend and to fall to
single-digit levels in the first half of 2024, according to the
National Bank of Romania. NBR, however, has also indicated that the
escalation of the war in Ukraine and the increasingly severe sanctions
associated with it generate considerable uncertainties and risks to the
outlook of economic activity, hence to the medium-term evolution of
inflation, through possible bigger effects on purchasing power and
consumer trust, as well as on companies’ activity, profits and
investment plans, but also through the potentially more severe impact
on the European/global economy and on risk perception in economies in
the region, with an adverse effect on financing costs.
The latest data and analyses point to a quasi-stagnation of economic
activity in Q3 and Q4 of 2022, under the impact of the escalating war
in Ukraine and the extension of associated sanctions. Compared to the
same period of 2021, however, GDP is likely to grow considerably in Q3,
amid a base effect, yet with decelerating private consumption growth.
The significant year-on-year decline recorded by retail trade in
July-August, but especially by household services, is relevant in this
respect, being only slightly offset by the slight recovery of
automotive trade.
Investor confidence regarding economic activity in the euro area has
grown above expectations in November 2022, according to the latest
report published by Sentix GmbH. The overall index has increased by 7.4
points compared to the previous month, to -30.9 points, considering
that the expectations index rose by 8.7 points, to -32.3 points and the
current conditions index was up 6 points, to -29.5 points. These
values, however, do not point to a reversal of the negative trend, as
the aforementioned report indicates.
On Tuesday, 8 November, during the eighth and the last monetary policy
meeting of 2022, the National Bank of Romania (NBR)’s Board of
Directors decided to increase the monetary policy interest rate to
6.75% per year, from 6.25% per year, and to raise the lending (Lombard)
facility rate to 7.75% per year, from 7.25% per year as of 9 November.
NBR also increased the deposit facility rate to 5.75% per year, from
5.25%, and decided to maintain firm control over money market
liquidity.
ProCredit Bank, a growth-oriented digital bank, has increased interest
rates on RON- and euro-denominated deposits. Individual clients who
open one-year term deposits will benefit from an interest rate of 8.6%
for deposits in RON and of 2.6% for those in euro. ProCredit Bank is
currently among the banks that offer the highest interest rates for
twelve-month term deposits, both RON- and euro-denominated ones.
EximBank and the company Trencadis from Baia Mare, which specializes in
the provision of IT integration solutions and services, have concluded
a RON 60 million financial agreement, a facility that will be used to
finance expenses related to the contract for the EDULIB educational
platform. At the end of 2021, Trencadis was designated as the winner of
the tender for EDULIB - the national digital platform with educational
resources, in a consortium with several IT&C companies.
The spa center in Borsec resort, which has been closed for more than a
decade, is to re-open on 15 December. The total investment in the
center amounts to EUR 9 million. The money came from the Ministry of
Development and from Harghita County Council. The spa center comprises
a spa and a treatment center, with an area of 2,900 square meters and a
capacity of 1,000 people per day in the summer season and 700 people in
winter.
Michelin Romania has launched a nearly EUR 1.2 million project which
consists of building a photovoltaic park in Zalău, where the French
company owns a tires plant. The company has accessed the grant from
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norwegian
Financial Mechanism 2014-2021, within the <<Romania
Energy Program>>, for the project "Photovoltaic power
plant for own consumption" to start at the beginning of 2023.
Paper packaging manufacturer BisBags recorded 30% organic growth in the
first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period of last year,
according to a press release. The company has invested RON 1.5 million
in new machinery to manufacture more types of paper packaging and
expects growing e-commerce sales through its own online platform,
Bisbags.ro. According to the cited source, the estimated turnover for
2022 is EUR 6.25 million, up by 25% against 2021, when the company had
reported EUR 5 million revenues.
An emergency ordinance recently put up for consultation at the Ministry
of Labor stipulates a 50% increase in salaries of locally elected
officials working on the implementation of projects included in the
National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). As a result, a director
in a ministry could earn up to RON 7,800 more that at present. Basic
salaries will grow by up to 50%, regardless of the number of projects
officials are involved in, according to the draft law.
During the plenary session on Tuesday, 8 November, the Chamber of
Deputies adopted a draft law that gives local police the power to ask
the owners or authorized keepers of vehicles for the identification
data of persons they have entrusted the vehicles to. In case the
requested information is not provided, local police officers will be
able to record offences and impose appropriate penalties.
The tip will be mentioned on both a payment slip and on the fiscal
receipt starting from 1 January 2023. The sums obtained from tips will
be distributed in full to employees, and the money from this source
will be considered income with tax withheld at source, without being
included in the calculation basis of social security contributions and
without falling within the scope of VAT, according to the draft law for
which the Parliament’s Budget Committee has drawn up an adoption
report, Profit.ro indicates. The final decision in this case belongs to
the Chamber of Deputies.
On Tuesday, the Chamber of Deputies adopted, with 55 votes in favor, 44
votes against and 37 abstentions, the draft law approving Government
Emergency Ordinance (OUG) 108/2022 on the decarbonization of the energy
sector, which regulates the closing and conservation of lignite and
hard coal power plants, the closing of lignite quarries and hard coal
mines, as well as support measures for the closing and conservation of
lignite and hard coal power generation units. The leader of Social
Democratic (PSD) deputies, Alfred Simonis stated, during the plenary
session, that following the current government’s negotiations with the
European Commission, all those mines would no longer close in 2023 and
2024, but would close in 2026, 2030, even 2032 some of them. The
Chamber of Deputies is the decision-making body; as a result, the draft
law will be sent to the head of state for promulgation.
As UN climate talks kicked off in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm
El-Sheikh, the European Union is moving forward to secure partnerships
with developing countries on hydrogen and clean technologies, starting
with Kazakhstan. In its REPowerEU plan presented in May, the European
Commission set out an objective to produce ten million tons of
renewable hydrogen in Europe and import the same amount by 2030. And it
is now moving forward to secure these supplies. At the COP27 conference
in Egypt on Monday (7 November), Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Prime Minister of
Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov establishing a "strategic partnership"
between the two sides.
Romanians working abroad sent over EUR 4 billion to relatives at home
in the first eight months of 2022, more than in the same period of
2021. While most of the money initially came from Germany and the UK,
the situation has currently been reversed. The latest data show that
Romanians in Great Britain have sent nearly EUR 900 million home in
2022, and the Romanian community there keeps growing. 16,000 Romanian
babies were born in the UK last year alone, according to the Foreign
Affairs Ministry.
Most Romanians are worried about the evolution of energy prices and
almost a quarter of them plan to reduce the average indoor temperature,
according to a survey commissioned by Resideo, a global provider of
home comfort and security solutions. The study indicates that rising
energy bills are a real source of concern; 95% of respondents in
Romania said they were "worried" (36%) or "very worried" (59%) about
the growing energy costs.