Press Review - July 21, 2017

07.21.2017 By Oana Gavrila

Romania Has One of the Lowest Government Debts in EU in 1H

Romania has one of the lowest government debt to gross domestic product ratios in the European Union in the first quarter of 2017, of 37.1%, according to Eurostat data.

The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the first quarter of 2017 were recorded in Greece (176.2%), Italy (134.7%) and Portugal (130.5%), and the lowest in Estonia (9.2%), Luxembourg (23.0%) and Bulgaria (28.6%), followed by Denmark and Romania.

At the end of the first quarter of 2017, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA19) stood at 89.5%, compared with 89.2% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2016.

In the EU28, the ratio also increased from 83.6% to 84.1%. Compared with the first quarter of 2016, the government debt to GDP ratio fell in both the euro area (from 91.2% to 89.5%) and the EU28 (from 84.3 % to 84.1%).

Sibiu-Pitesti Highway Costs Double Compared with Master Plan

The total estimated cost of the Sibiu-Pitesti highway stands at EUR3.34 billion, according to draft posted on the Transport ministry website, nearly double compared with estimates in the general transport master plan approved last year.

The master plan stipulated investments of EUR1.6-1.8 billion for this road and 75% of the cost was to be covered with EU funding.

PM Dismisses Anti-Fraud Department Head

The head of the tax authority's anti-fraud department, Marin Marius Florea, was dismissed Thursday and replaced with Daniel Mihai Tudor, by decision of the prime minister.

Premier Tudose also appointed former tax authority head Bogdan Stan as vice-president of the institution, after dismissing him Tuesday.

Part-Time Employees To Pay Social Security Contributions in Ratio to Minimum Wage

The government will make employers pay pension and healthcare contributions in ratio to the minimum wage for part-time employees.

The measure takes effect as of August and applies to income earned in August.

The government said it aims to protect part-time employees' right to a state pension upon retirement and limit situations where employers use part-time work contracts to pay lower social security contributions.

Around 1.2 million people in Romania work part-time.

Bucharest Mayor Promises Single Public Transport Ticket in Bucharest, Ilfov

Bucharest general mayor Gabriela Firea said Thursday the same type of pass may be used on all means of public transport in Bucharest and the surrounding Ilfov county, including trains, starting this fall.

Firea said the pass will be valid for buses, trams, trolleybuses, the subway network and local trains, but also on routes operated by private transporters in Ilfov.