Press Review - September 14, 2015

09.14.2015 By Gabriela Stan

Gabriel Oprea: Romania To Respect Its Initial Commitments On Receiving 1,785 Refugees

Romanian deputy PM Gabriel Oprea said he will announce at the extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels that Romania will respect its initial commitments to receive 1,785 immigrants.

"I have a very clear mandate from President Klaus Iohannis and PM Victor Ponta, which I will communicate with modesty and dignity, Romania will respect its initial commitments to receive 1,785 immigrants, that’s the current capacity of the Romanian state.

The EC said Wednesday that Romania should receive 4,646 refugees, while in May, Romania was assigned a quota of 1,705 refugees.  (Evenimentul Zilei)

 PSD Congress Rescheduled For Yearend

Several PSD leaders countrywide, supporting Liviu Dragnea, asked for the organization of the PSD Extraordinary Congress in the first half of October instead of November, as initially established by the National Council back in March.

Such a move would be an exercise of power for Liviu Dragnea, who would become full party leader, annihilating Ponta wing. The new president of PSD Bucharest, Robert Negoita, one of Liviu Dragnea’s supporters, has clearly stated that the Congress is aimed at legitimating Liviu Dragnea as head of PSD.

On the other hand, Dragnea agreed with October 15 - December 1 as periods for the PSD Extraordinary Congress. Nevertheless, the decisive talks will be held tomorrow, at the meeting of the PSD Permanent Bureau.  (Adevarul)

Romania Pays Loan To International Monetary Fund

Romania paid its highest loan to the International Monetary Fund in the history of the country; nevertheless it still has to pay part of its debt to the European Commission and World Bank, the other funders of the country at the beginning of the financial crisis.

In 2009, Romania was on the verge of default. The government led by Emil Boc decided to contract a record loan, worth nearly EUR20 billion, from IMF, World Bank and European commission, of which EUR12 billion from IMF. Prime Minister Victor Ponta has recently announced that the IMF loan was paid.

”We are done. No more debts to the IMF,” Ponta said, adding that an agreement with the IMF, WB and EC would have positive effects, so that they might decide to sign a new agreement. (Evenimentul Zilei)

School Year 2015-2016 Starts On Monday

Over three million pupils will start the school year 2015-2016 on Monday. According to the Education Ministry, the structure of the school year 2015 — 2016 includes 36 school weeks.

The school year structure was modified just before the beginning of the school year, on August 31, by minister order published in the Official Gazette. Thus, the first vacation will take place between October 31 – November 8, for primary schools and kindergartens; the winter vacation will start on December 19 and will end on January 10, while another vacation is scheduled for February 6 - February 14. The second semester will start on February 15 and the spring vacation is scheduled for April 23 – May 3, 2016. The summer vacation will start on June 25 and will end on September 11, 2016. (Puterea)

Alcohol Price Down, Cigarette Price Higher After New Tax Code Implementation

In January 2016, when the new Tax Code comes into effect, the alcohol price will decrease while cigarettes price will increase by RON0,10 due to the excise duty hike.

Cigarette prices will continue to increase in the upcoming years, as the excise duty is calculated based on inflation rate in the last 12 months. At the same time, alcoholic drinks excise duty will decrease by 30% next year. The new excise duty will be of RON3,306 per hectoliter of pure alcohol, compared to RON4,738 currently. (Puterea)