Press Review - July 18, 2018

07.18.2018 By Oana Gavrila

Three-Month Money Market Rate Unchanged At 3.35%

The 3-month money market interest rate used to calculate interests for consumer loans in lei remained unchanged Tuesday, at 3.35% a year, for the second day in a row, central bank data show.

The six-month money market rate, which is used to calculate interests on leu-denominated mortgage loans, rose slightly to 3.48% on Tuesday, from 3.47% previously.

The nine-month interbank rate, which is used to calculate interests on loans in lei attracted by commercial banks from other commercial banks for a nine-month period, inched up to 3.52%, from 3,51% on Monday.

The twelve-month index stayed at Friday and Monday’s level of 3.56%.

Romanian President Invites PM Dancila To Hold Talks

President Klaus Iohannis has invited PM Viorica Dancila to a meeting at the Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest, amid rumors regarding government plans to issue an emergency decree regarding a tax amnesty.

The Romanian Government had a Cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday, 14.00 local time, the last one scheduled before parliamentary recess.

However, both leaders of the ruling PSD-ALDE coalition denied any intention to pass such a decree, after a similar one was pulled early 2017 following countrywide mass protests.

Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, who needs to sign on any government decree, also denied rumors of a decree being prepared, saying nothing of the sort was being debated within his ministry.

Constitutional Court Admits Opposition Challenge To Statute Of Local Elected Officials

Romania’s Constitutional Court admitted a challenge against a bill passed by the Romanian Parliament which modifies the Statute of local elected officials, brought forth by 80 MPs from opposition parties.

President of the opposition party PMP Eugen Tomac announced on June 21 he would challenge the bill at the Constitutional Court, as it stipulates that local councilmen, mayors and county council presidents would no longer lose their mandates if the party on whose lists they were elected merged with another.

Tomac said Tuesday that the bill is designed by ruling party PSD to “steal” as many local elected officials from his party as it can.

“Through this law, given by PSD against PMP, the ruling party aims to steal as many local elected officials of our party as it can. Basically, through this law, PSD wants to take out from the political life any form of political association and asks for any party that merges to lose its local and county councilmen,” Tomac wrote on his Facebook account.

The law would effect PMP as it merged with UNPR after the local elections in 2016.

The bill will now re-enter parliamentary procedure to correct unconstitutional provisions.

Protest in Bacau As City Is Left Without Running Water

Over 200 denizens of Bacau, a city in eastern Romania, took to the streets Tuesday evening after the city was left without running water for four days.

The main pipeline supplying running water to the city was damaged last Saturday and water services were supposed to be resumed Tuesday. However, further damage in the same area will take until the end of the week to repair, city hall representatives said.