Press Review - November 24, 2017

11.24.2017 By Oana Gavrila

Romanian President To Attend Fifth Eastern Partnership Summit

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will attend on Friday, November 24 in Brussels the fifth Eastern Partnership Summit, an event that will focus on administrative capacity, good governance and market opportunities.

The summit is organized under the auspices of Estonia having its six-month presidency term of the Council of the European Union and will tackle the four priority sectors for cooperation that were set up at the previous summit in Riga.

These are administrative capacity and good governance, market opportunities, interconnections and climate change and mobility and human contact, according to a press release from the Presidential Administration.

The agenda also includes the set-up of 20 concrete goals for 2020 included in a roadmap that would allow the European Union and its partner states to guide their common efforts.

The Romanian head of state will also encourage the continuation of solid European Union policies in the organization’s Eastern vicinity, so as the region becomes predictable, stable, prosperous and committed to European values and principles, the press release concludes.

 

Convicted Businessman Ioan Neculaie Found at Giurgiu Customs

Romanian businessman Ioan Neculaie was found Thursday night at the Giurgiu customs, seeking to cross into Bulgaria.

Neculaie, former owner of football club FC Brasov, was sentenced to two years in prison for breaking arms and ammunition laws and had disappeared Thursday afternoon.

Neculaie owns the truck manufacturing facility Roman S.A. Two years ago, he stopped funding the FC Brasov football team, which he had owned since 1999. In 2010, Neculaie's assets were worth an estimated EUR80-82 million.

 

Bucharest, 21 Counties Under Weather Warning for Fog

Capital Bucharest and 21 counties are under yellow code advisory for fog and low visibility Friday morning.

Meteorologists issued the advisory for capital Bucharest and counties Neamt, Suceava, Gorj, Olt, Valcea, Dolj, Buzau, Ilfov, Ialomita, Teleorman, Prahova, Arges, Damboviţa, Giurgiu, Calaraşi, Alba, Brasov, Harghita, Sibiu, Covasna, and Mures.

Visibility will drop to below 200 m and below 50 m in some areas.

 

Consumer Protection Receives Hundreds of Complaints over Black Friday Sales

Romania's consumer protection agency received hundreds of complaints regarding retailers' Black Friday sales campaigns, said agency head Bogdan Pandelica.

He said check-ups following complaints have just started and will continue throughout the next period.

Romania's antitrust authority has launched an investigation into online retail that will include Black Friday sales data, said authority president Bogdan Chiritoiu.

Romanians bought RON115 million worth of products online in the first 24 hours of Black Friday sales.

 

Banking Association Seeks To Soften Interbank Rate Impact on Retail Loans

The Romanian Banking Association will seek to soften the impact of interbank interest rates on household loans, said association honorary president Radu Gratian Ghetea.

He said he will initiate debates within the association to seek ways for household loans to be less affected by the ROBOR index, which is the average interbank interest rate for lei.

“ROBOR and EURIBOR should not affect individual lenders so much, these clients should be better protected,” said Ghetea, adding banks could use the prime rate mechanism plus a risk margin instead.

The three-month ROBOR index grew from 0.87% at the beginning of the year to over 1% in September and over 2% mid-November.