Press Review - January 18, 2018

01.18.2018 By Oana Gavrila

Housing Prices in Romania 31.5% Lower in 4Q 2017 Than End-2007

Although they recouped a large part of the decline recorded during the time of economic recession, housing prices in Romania were 31.5% lower on average in the last quarter of 2017 than in the same period of 2007, according to a quarterly report by real estate website Imobiliare.ro.

According to the report, residential properties were 9.1% more expensive than a year before, a slowdown after a 12.4% annual growth in 2016.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, housing prices in Bucharest grew slightly, by just 0.6%, while the rest of the country posted a growth of 3.3%. Prices of houses and villas in Bucharest dropped 2.2% but grew 8.5% in other cities, the report noted.

Prices in Cluj-Napoca grew 18.9% on the year in the fourth quarter, while housing prices in Iasi grew 8.6%, Timisoara and Brasov - 9.4%, and Constanta - 11.3%.

Political Turmoil Affects Economy, Business Environment Calls for Legislative Stability

The Romanian leu lost 0.7% amid political turmoil in the country and the business environment called for legislative stability despite changes of government.

The leu dropped to nearly 4.66 units to the euro Wednesday and the stock market went down 0.3%. Meanwhile, business people are concerned a new government could issue new legislative proposals and mess with the economy.

“Political uncertainty can't be positive for investors, especially since we've had two changes of government in a short period of time despite the fact the ruling coalition has a comfortable majority in Parliament,” said Ionut Dumitru, head of the Fiscal Council.

President Names MEP Viorica Dancila As Prime Minister Designate

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday named ruling Social Democratic Party nominee Viorica Dancila as prime minister designate and cited “parliamentary arithmetic” as the main reason behind his decision.

The president said it was very clear to him that the social democrats have the majority in Parliament and thus decided to name their proposal for prime minister.

Iohannis stressed the party must now fulfill the promises made in 2016’s election campaign because Romanians have high expectations and added that a functioning cabinet should be formed by February 1.

Dancila was proposed prime minister by the social democrats after power struggles within the party forced out the second prime minister in seven months, namely Mihai Tudose. Dancila would be the first woman to head the Romanian Government.

Government Approves Plan to Tackle Prison Issues

Romania's government on Wednesday approved a calendar of measures to be implemented in 2018-2024 to tackle prison conditions.

The measures target to reduce overcrowding in Romanian prisons, to improve prison conditions, better regulation of the probation system, and the introduction of electronic monitoring, the Justice Ministry said in a press release.