Press Review - October 29, 2018

10.29.2018 By Oana Gavrila

Romania To Raise Minimum Wage on Jan 1 at the Latest

The minimum wage in Romania will be raised as of January 1, 2019 at the latest, said finance minister Eugen Teodorovici.

“We are looking at the best date and we'll make a decision. The relevant government decision could be adopted next week,” the minister said.

Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said last week the country’s minimum wage will not increase starting with November, as was proposed by the Prognosis Commission, but that the rise could happen in December 2018 or January 2019.

“There is no way it will happen starting with November 1. I spoke with the unions. We will see if it is feasible as of December 1 or January 1,” Dancila said when asked about the possibility of raising the minimum wage.

The Labor Ministry proposed raising the national gross minimum wage to RON2,080/month, with a special rate of RON2,350/month for jobs which require higher education or for employees with more than 15 years of work experience.

Finance Minister Assures Public Sector Not in for Wage Freeze in 2019

There will be no wage freeze in the public sector next year and wage raises stipulated in the salary law will be applied, said finance minister Eugen Teodorovici.

He said the matter was discussed by the government and the wage freeze measure was put forth within the country's talks with the European Commission, which had raised concerns over Romania's budget deficit.

Teodorovici explained public sector employees needn't worry over the proposed wage freeze, as the EC is only concerned that Romania doesn't exceed the 3% of GDP deficit limit and only cares about the result, regardless of how it's obtained.

Magnitude 5.8 Quake Hits Eastern Romania, Tremor Felt in Capital

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Romania's eastern county of Buzau on Sunday morning, the National Institute for Earth Physics announced.

It was the strongest earthquake in the last 15 years after a magnitude 6 earthquake on Oct. 27, 2004.

The earthquake was strongly felt in the capital city of Bucharest and many other cities in Romania. There were no immediate reports of injuries in the epicenter area.

The epicenter of the earthquake, with a depth of 150 km, was determined to be near Nehoiu, some 120 km northeast of Bucharest.

Some 30 other seismic events took place in Romania in October, with magnitudes between 2.0 to 3.5.

The Vrancea seismic zone, including the eastern counties of Vrancea and Buzau, as well as surrounding mountains, is one of the most active seismic areas in Europe. It is known for its intermediate-depth (70-200 km) earthquakes, which can reach a magnitude of 7.0 to 7.8.

Lower Chamber Passes Money Laundering Prevention Bill Amid Vote Controversy

Romania’s Lower Chamber last week passed a bill implementing EU directives on preventing money laundering after the initial failed vote was controversially repeated at the request of the Social Democrat Party, which cited a malfunction of the electronic voting system.

The bill passed with 170 votes for, 70 against and one abstention on its second try, after the Social Democrat Party (PSD) group leader, Daniel Suciu requested a repeat of the vote, stating that the options of two present MPs were not registered by the electronic voting system.

The vote initially failed with 163 votes for, prompting opposing MPs to vehemently protest the decision to repeat it.

The initiative was the source of controversy due to provisions which would have NGOs report all individuals who benefit from their activity. According to the bill, NGOs must register all individuals they assist, a provision which Hungarian minority party UDMR criticized as unfeasible, as it could lead to the need of registering millions of individuals. An exemption to this provision was made for associations of minority citizens which are members of the National Minority Council.

The bill will be sent to President Klaus Iohannis for enactment. The opposition party USR said it would challenge the bill at the Constitutional Court over the repeated vote procedure.