Press Review - September 26, 2018

09.26.2018 By Oana Gavrila

Leu Loses More Ground Vs Euro

The Romanian leu depreciated further against the euro Tuesday, to a midday reference rate of 4.6603 lei/euro, down 0.05% compared with Monday.

The leu's reference rate on Monday was 4.6578 units to the euro, the lowest level since August 13.

The leu also lost ground to the US dollar, standing at 3.9613 units Tuesday compared with 3.9575 units Monday.

Ponta Accuses Dragnea of High Treason over Offshore Gas Bill

Former prime minister Victor Ponta said Romania would lose $10 billion in taxes and royalties under the offshore gas bill as passed in Senate.

He said social democrat MPs voting in favor of the bill are accomplices of party leader Liviu Dragnea who is guilty of high treason.

The Senate passed again on Monday a bill regulating offshore gas exploitation in the Black Sea, in the form amended earlier in the day by a common energy and economic committee, following a re-examination request by President Klaus Iohannis. The Chamber of Deputies will hold a decisive vote on the bill in the following days.

Liberal Party First-Deputy Chairman Resigns

The first-deputy chairman for the political strategy of Romania’s Liberal Party (PNL), Ilie Bolojan, announced his resignation from the office on Tuesday, stating that he wants to concentrate on his duties as mayor of Oradea.

Bolojan told MEDIAFAX that he finds it hard to allot time to both offices, and that he chose to dedicate more time to his duties as mayor, two years before local elections are set to take place.

“At the beginning of last week, I registered my resignation as first-deputy for the party’s political strategy with the PNL secretariat. Seeing that the Oradea Town Hall has a number of important European projects and investments ongoing, which require a lot of time, it was hard in these circumstances to honor both offices,” said Bolojan.

Bolojan will remain in the party in his capacity as leader of the Liberal Party's Bihor county branch. He served as first-deputy chairman of the party since June 2017.

Cold Weather, Strong Winds To Affect Romania Until Thursday

Romanian meteorologists have announced a wave of cold weather which will affect the entire country until Thursday, lowering temperatures by several degrees compared with normal temperatures for this period.

The weather forecast went into effect Tuesday morning and was issued until Thursday morning.

During this interval, abnormally cold weather for the period will be observed throughout the country, with both day and night temperatures lower by 4-8 degrees Celsius than the late September average.

Nights and mornings, sub-zero temperatures are expected locally in central Romania and isolated throughout the rest of the country.

Some regions will also see winds with speeds varying from 45 to 90 km/h during the interval, with the northern and central Moldova region expected to be affected on Tuesday, and eastern and southeastern Romania affected on Wednesday.