Press Review - November 10, 2017

11.10.2017 By Oana Gavrila

Cluj-Napoca Hosts Fourth Edition of Untold Festival on Aug 2–5

Untold festival will be held in Cluj-Napoca for the fourth year running, organizers announced Thursday. The Event takes place on August 2–5, 2018 and will feature over 250 musical acts.

Untold festival general manager Bogdan Buta told a news conference Thursday evening early-bird tickets go on sale next week. Early-bird tickets will cost RON400 and prices will reach RON650 later on.

Over 330,000 people attended the festival this summer.

If Wages Drop, It's All the Employer's Fault, Says Labor Minister

Romanian labor minister Olguţa Vasilescu said Thursday net salaries will not drop due to the transfer of social security contributions to employees and it's all employers' fault if they do.

"We made sure net wages cannot drop under the new Tax Code. If they do, it will be exclusively the employer's fault for dipping into the money due to employees because otherwise, wage costs remain the same,” said Vasilescu on Romania TV.

She said that, on the contrary, net wages should rise, albeit by a negligible amount.

President Deems Government's Hasty Tax Changes Unfair to Investors

President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday sent a message for the 24th edition of the “National Ranking of Companies” Gala hosted in Bucharest and said that it is a great injustice that investors' efforts are impeded by uninspired tax policies.

The head of state delivered his message through presidential advisor Cosmin Marinescu and expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that the Government overhauled the tax system two months before the changes came into force. The president said that businessmen are therefore unable to make proper business plans due to the instability of tax policies.

Iohannis also expressed concern regarding the future of the Romanian economy, despite the 6.1% economic growth, according to the latest forecasts. He said this growth is based almost entirely on consumption, while investment is regressing, and underscored that without investment Romania cannot have a healthy and sustainable development that would lead to long-term prosperity.

Less Than 20% Of Homes In Romania Insured Against Natural Disaster

Less than 20% of homes in Romania are insured against natural disasters, but the number of mandatory home insurance policies grew 6% on the month in October 2017, the Romanian Pool of Insurance against Natural Disasters (PAID) said Thursday.

The biggest increases in underwritings were registered in Ilfov (1.01%) and in Brasov (0.9%). The highest coverage rates are registered in capital Bucharest (38.29%), Ilfov (34.14%) and Timis county (29.36%).

At the opposite end of the scale are the counties of Olt (8.35%), Mehedinti (8.36%) and Gorj (8.65%).

Damage claim payments reached RON343,539 in October 2017, up 48.7% compared with the previous month.

PAID was set up in September 2009 and issued the first mandatory home issuance policies in July 2010.

NEXT-E, EU Sign Funding Agreement For Electric Vehicle Charging Stations In CEE, Including Romania

The NEXT-E consortium, which includes E.ON Romania, will receive EUR18.84 million under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to build 252 fast and ultra-fast electric vehicle charging stations in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), including Romania, E.ON said Thursday.

The consortium consists of the companies of E.ON Group (Zapadoslovenska energetika in Slovakia, E.ON Czech Republic, E.ON Hungary, E.ON Romania), MOL Group (the subsidiaries of the six participating countries), Hrvatska elektroprivreda of Croatia, PETROL (in Slovenia and Croatia) as well as Nissan and BMW.

The project was selected by the European Commission in July 2017 for co-financing under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

According to the statement, the NEXT-E consortium will receive EUR 18.84 million to implement the project, making this the largest CEF-funded project for electric vehicles.

The installation of fast charging stations will begin in 2018, while the installation of ultra-fast stations is planned for 2019, anticipating the new generation of extended-range electric vehicles. The overall completion of the project is slated for the end of 2020.