Press Review - September 7, 2018

09.07.2018 By Oana Gavrila

Finance Minister Says IMF GDP Growth Projections Are “Alarmist”

Romanian finance minister Eugen Teodorovici said Thursday budget executions have shown the government's estimates were correct and the International Monetary Fund often makes “alarmist” projections.

The minister said he will have a talk with the IMF representative in Romania as such projections must be backed up when released to the public.

The IMF is set to revise Romania's economic growth forecast for 2018 to around 4.5% in October from the current projection of 5.1%, IMF representative in Romania Alejandro Hajdenberg said Thursday.

“The 5.1% economic growth estimate for 2018 was based on data available in March. The forecast is being revised and based on the most recent indicators and the slowdown in the first half of the year it will be revised down to 4%-4.5% in October,” he said.

The IMF also estimates a budget deficit of 3.6% of GDP for this year. “We are still analyzing the data from the budget revision but we are concerned Romania will overshoot the 3% deficit target,” said Hajdenberg.

 

Weather in Romania to Cool Significantly

Romanian meteorologists expect increasing instability with rain and wind gusts in the upcoming period.

Temperatures will be lower but still above the normal average for this time of year.

Maximum temperatures will range between 23 and 28 degrees Celsius in Transylvania, western and northwestern Romania, and 27-32 degrees in the southern and eastern parts of the country.

 

Start of University Year Pushes Rents Up

With the start of the university year approaching, rents have gone up and students must pay RON100-350 a month for a place in a dorm room or as much as EUR310 for a city studio apartment.

In Bucharest, studio apartment prices start from EUR230 a month. In the city center, in proximity to most universities in Bucharest, rents for studios are EUR290-310.  According to statistics board data, there were approximately 128,000 students in Bucharest last year, a large part of them from other cities.

In Timisoara, rents for studios grew from EUR171 to EUR185-190 this summer.

Average rents in Cluj-Napoca grew 10-15% compared with the same period last year and rent for a studio starts from EUR200.

 

Romanian, Spanish PMs Sign Memorandums On Defense And Public Administration

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and her Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez signed at an official meeting on Thursday two memorandums which allow for elaborating common projects in defense and modernizing public administration, according to the Romanian Government.

The first memorandum is an agreement between the Romanian and Spanish Defense Ministries regarding cooperation in matters of defense and security. The second act regards cooperation between Romania’s National Administration Institute and the Spanish National Public Administration Institute.

Other issues discussed at the meeting were a possible extended recognition of the statute of the Romanian Orthodox Church, dual citizenship for Romanian citizens in Spain and talks regarding a common cabinet meeting between the two countries’ governments.

Following the meeting, the Romanian PM was scheduled for an audience with King Felipe VI of Spain.