Press Review - March 9, 2016

03.09.2016 By Gabriela Stan

Romania's Economy Grew 3.7% In 2015, Driven By Consumption

Romania's gross domestic product grew 3.7% on the year in 2015 in unadjusted data, to RON710.226 billion, mainly driven by trade, vehicle repair and hotels and restaurants, the country's statistics institute said Tuesday.

In the fourth quarter, the country's GDP increased 3.8% in real terms compared with the last quarter of 2014 and 1.1% compared with the third quarter.

All branches of the economy contributed to GDP growth except agriculture, which had a negative impact of 0.5%, the data showed.

Economic growth was mainly due to household consumption spending, which increased 6.2%, contributing 3.8% to GDP growth. On the other hand, net exports had a negative impact of 1.6%. (Puterea)

President Klaus Iohannis Supports Efforts To Find Lasting Solution In The Middle East

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who is paying an official visit to Israel, stated on Tuesday that Romania supports the efforts to find a lasting solution in the Middle East.

“The peace in the Middle East represents a topic of top interest to us, given that the regional developments have major consequences over European states as well. Romania is supporting the efforts to find a durable and comprehensive solution, meeting the requirements of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security, to develop freely in their own countries," Iohannis said in a joint statement with Knesset Speaker, Yuli Edelstein.

The Romanian President also emphasized the importance of joint efforts to fight terrorism and the necessity of measures to tackle the spread of extremist ideology, adding that education remains the most powerful instrument for channeling energies towards peace and prosperity to the detriment of violence and hatred. (Puterea)

PM Dacian Ciolos To Explain Romania’s Priorities To The Dutch Parliament

Romanian Prime-Minister Dacian Ciolos stated on Tuesday that he would go to the Dutch Parliament to explain Romania’s priorities.

”I will go to the Parliament, for a meeting with the leadership of the Parliament, as well as with the members of the European Affairs Committee, to explain them Romania’s priorities related to the European agenda, as well as the bilateral cooperation, and answer several questions, as I know that the attitude and position of the Parliament depend on the attitude and position of the Dutch government, so that I think a direct dialog with the members of the Parliament would be important,” Ciolos said.

Asked about his opinion about the recent position of the Netherlands, which disagrees with Romania’s accession to Schengen area, Ciolos said that the Dutch are very pragmatic people, which make decisions based on arguments, so that Romania should strengthen the dialog with the Dutch authorities. (Evenimentul Zilei)

Women Account For 49.4% Of BCR’s Total Number Of Clients

Women account for 49.4% of BCR’s total number of clients and the profile of the bank’s female client shows the monthly income (salary or pension) of young and older women is on the rise compared to the monthly minimum net income per capita, according to data from Romania's largest bank BCR, a unit of Austria’s Erste Group Bank (EBS.RO).

 The number of BCR female clients choosing private banking services (accessible to those having over EUR200,000 in their bank accounts) has increased by 8% over the last year.

One in three BCR clients using private banking services is a woman and female clients choosing this type of services hold 30% of total assets managed on this segment. A third of BCR female clients use private banking services to make placements in investment funds.(Evenimentul Zilei)

EU Finance Ministers Want Higher Taxes For E-Cigarettes

European Union finance ministers asked the European Commission on Tuesday to decide by 2017 whether to propose increasing taxation on e-cigarettes, according to Reuters.

In most of the EU states, e-cigarettes are exempt from excise duties which are levied on traditional tobacco products besides the usual taxes. Thus, e-cigarettes get to be much cheaper.

Nevertheless, the EC spokesperson said that it is unlikely that EC would propose the same taxation levels on e-cigarettes as those applied to cigarettes.

According to a 2012 poll, 20% of European smokers used e-cigarettes, which is considered a step towards giving up smoking.  All big cigarette producers have lately entered the market of e-cigarettes. (Adevarul)