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Tag: car-scrapping

  • Discussions regarding the Car Scrapping (Rabla) program

    Discussions regarding the Car Scrapping (Rabla) program

    The Car Scrapping (Rabla) programs were implemented by the Environment Ministry to renew the car fleet in Romania, by gradually replacing old, polluting cars with new ones. In particular, Rabla Plus program had the ambition and, partially, succeeded in accelerating the dynamics of environmentally-friendly hybrid and electric car purchases. Romanians were tempted to buy such vehicles because they were offered generous ecobonuses, going up to 10 thousand Euros in the case of electric cars. Last year, however, the decrease of the ecobonus for electric vehicles from 10,000 to 5,000 Euros caused a market setback of about 32%. Starting from this reality, the representatives of the Automobile Manufacturers Association in Romania are discussing with the authorities scenarios aimed at revitalizing the Rabla program.

     

    The general secretary of the Association, Adrian Sandu has details: “As of last year, we started the dialogue with the Environment Fund Administration and the Environment Ministry to draw up the new program. We want a five-year program, because we want regulated fiscal and legislative predictability. This is the first basis of the development of a business based on healthy principles. Regarding the Rabla program, we want it to be a single program, to no longer have the Rabla Clasic and Rabla Plus programs and to start as soon as possible”.

     

    According to the representatives of the Automobile Manufacturers Association, if the financing of the ecobonus is made from money obtained from green certificates, it is possible that its value be more substantial than if it is made from the state budget, which, this year, is subject to constraints. At the beginning of the month, the Romanian Automobile Manufacturers and Importers Association (APIA) announced that it supports the implementation of a new ‘Rabla’ Program with efficient subsidies of 8,500 Euros for electric cars, which will provide predictability at least until the year 2030. The association campaigns for complementary legislative measures for the development of charging station infrastructure and for the adoption of concrete, planned measures to support sustainable mobility in Romania.

     

    According to Automobile Manufacturers and Importers Association, the evolution of the market in 2025 will depend both on economic factors and consumer demand, as well as on political decisions that can accelerate or slow down the transition to electromobility. The Association forecasts that, in 2025, the general market of new registered vehicles will no longer grow as in the last three years, a slight decrease of 0.4% being estimated, with a number of 179,000 units sold. At the same time, ‘electric’ vehicles will have an increase of 34.6% compared to 2024, registering a much more intense pace than in previous years, a trend that will be directly influenced by the future subsidy conditions. Romania ranks fifth among the largest car manufacturers in Europe, and the domestic car industry has generated a turnover of 35 billion Euros in 2023, on the rise as compared to previous reports. (LS)

  • August 19, 2024

    August 19, 2024

    HEAT WAVE A persistent heat wave is reported in Romania, with code red, orange and yellow alerts issued in most regions of the country. The temperature-humidity index is above 80%, while highs range between 29 and 39 degrees Celsius. In Bucharest, the temperature is expected to reach 37 degrees Celsius, after 31 degrees Celsius reported at noon.

     

    EU PM Marcel Ciolacu makes a visit to Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday, to talk with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, about the seats Romania will hold in the future Commission. According to governmental sources, Bucharest may appoint the new commissioner for enlargement, who will be nominated from among the Social Democratic MEPs. Meanwhile, also this week, the government is scheduled to discuss the national strategy for the defence industry. Its goals are to ensure the development, revamping and upgrading of defence facilities, and to promote research, development and innovation by opening excellence centres and by attracting foreign and Romanian investors.

     

    CAR SCRAPPING A new session of the “Rabla Plus” national car scrapping programme, aimed at facilitating the purchase of electric and hybrid vehicles by individuals, public institutions and local administration units, has been launched today. According to the Environment Fund Authority, applicants receive a voucher for the purchase of a new vehicle, in return for scrapping 1 or 2 vehicles older than 6 years. The voucher for the purchase of an EV is worth approx. EUR 5,000, and the one for a hybrid car or electric motorcycle is around EUR 2,600, irrespective of the number of cars scrapped. For public institutions, the voucher amounts to EUR 24,000.

     

    PENSIONS Millions of Romanian pensioners will receive pension benefits based on a new calculation formula as of September 1. The authorities promise this new system would remove all inequities in the pension system. According to official data, after recalculation the average public pension benefits will increase from around EUR 460 to around EUR 540. The finance minister, Marcel Boloș, says that in the forthcoming period the pressure on the public deficit will increase. Under the new regulations, in order to receive public pension benefits in Romania the minimum payment contribution period will be 15 years, with the retirement age planned to reach 65 for both men and women in 2035.

     

    BACCALAUREATE The autumn session of the baccalaureate exam is under way in Romania. After the Romanian language and literature test on Monday, written tests will be held in mathematics and history in the next few days, followed by tests in the subjects chosen by the applicants. The final results will be announced on August 30. Over 33,000 applicants have enrolled for the exam this autumn, following an over 78% pass rate at the June session.

     

    UKRAINE Ukraine continues its attacks in Russia’s Kursk region, where it destroyed a second strategic bridge on Sunday. Military analysts quoted by Reuters say there are 3 strategic bridges facilitating military supply for the Russian forces in Kursk. Kyiv claims to have seized some 1,150 square km and over 80 settlements so far. This is the 14th day of the Ukrainian strike, the first by a foreign army in Russia since WWII, with Moscow seemingly unable to initiate large-scale defence operations. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reiterated that Kyiv’s goal is to create a buffer zone to protect Ukraine’s border regions from Russian bombings. Meanwhile, Belarus announced the mobilisation of one-third of its army at the border, in response to the Ukrainian operations. At the start of the offensive in Kursk, Belarus, Russia’s closest ally and the country that allowed Russia to use its territory to attack Ukraine, claimed that Ukrainian military drones had violated its air space. (AMP)

  • March 19, 2024 UPDATE

    March 19, 2024 UPDATE

    Elections – The ruling coalition in Romania made up of PSD-PNL will have a common candidate for the General Mayor of Bucharest in the local elections on June 9, namely the physician Cătălin Cîrstoiu, the current manager of the University Hospital. He will be presented by the leaders of the two parties in a joint press conference. Regarding the candidates for Bucharest’s sectors, they will be announced after the proposals from PSD and PNL will be validated by the leaderships of the two parties. At the same time, the governing coalition should also finalize, this week, the common list of candidates for the European Parliament, which will also take place on June 9. On the other hand, the United Right Alliance, made by Save Romania Union – USR, the People’s Movement Party – PMP and the Force of the Right Party will be on the ballots at the June 9 elections. On Tuesday, the High Court of Cassation and Justice annulled the decision of the Central Electoral Bureau by which it had rejected its establishment protocol. We remind you that this year, besides local and European Parliament elections, parliamentary and presidential elections will also take place in Romania.

     

    Car scrapping – A new car scrapping scheme got under way in Romania on Tuesday, available to those wishing to buy new, more environmental-friendly cars. People can receive up to 1,400 Euros for scrapping a used car and 2,000 euros for two used cars, according to the basic version of the scheme. Under the so-called ‘plus’ version, individual persons can buy cars with a lower pollution level to the amount of 60,000 Euros including VAT, with eco-bonuses and an eco-ticket to be potentially added to the scrapping bonus. The budget allocated for the basic version of the scheme is 60 million Euros, while that for the ‘plus’ version is 200 million Euros, according to the Environment Fund Administration.

     

    Evacuation – Another 11 Romanian citizens and family members were evacuated from the Gaza Strip and arrived in Egypt, said the foreign ministry in Bucharest on Monday evening. A Romanian embassy mobile consular team took them over and accompanied them to Cairo, from where they will fly to Romania. So far, 313 Romanian citizens and family members have been evacuated from Gaza. The Romanian foreign ministry says it is in constant contact with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to facilitate the evacuation of other Romanian nationals and family members should there be requests to this end and depending on the developments on the ground and the agreement of the parties involved.

     

    Capping – The capping of the trade markup to basic foods will be extended until the end of the year, according to a bill adopted on Tuesday by the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, as a decision-making body. It is a law that complements the legislation in force and which was supported by the parliamentary groups of the Social Democratic Party – PSD, National Liberal Party – PNL and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR. PSD (in the governing coalition) says that the decision to extend this measure was taken following the large number of requests from citizens, while the opposition Save Romania Union says that the measure is populist and has proven ineffective. The law also provides for the establishment of a mechanism for monitoring the prices of agricultural and food products.

     

    Law – Romania’s Constitutional Court rejected the notification submitted by Save Romania Union – USR and the Force of the Right (both in opposition) against the draft law decriminalizing tax evasion with the damage below one million Euros, if the amount is fully returned, the damage being increased by 15%, plus interest and penalties. The Court claims that the law is an important step for the transition “toward modern theories” of criminal law, in which the main objective must be aimed at the discovery and confiscation of illicit assets. The appellants argued that the law is an invitation to theft made by the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party. (LS)

  • Local  car-scrapping program

    Local  car-scrapping program









    In Romania, registrations for the local segment of the car-scrapping program started on Monday. The start was not the best, since the application developed by the Environment Fund Administration got stuck after only a couple of minutes. However, the issues were fixed, and the Minister of the Environment, Mircea Fechet, says that there are already localities that have exhausted their allocated budget in this regard, with 12 thousand vouchers already issued on the first day.







    500 town halls were registered in the program, and the earmarked budget is 240 million lei (approx. 48 million euros). For each older car, with Euro 3 or lower pollution standards, scrapped, Romanians will receive 3,000 lei (approx. 600 euros), without the obligation to buy a new car in exchange. Of this amount, 2,400 lei come from the Ministry of the Environment and 600 lei from the town hall.

    The first step for the interested applicants is to create an account on the website of the Environment Fund Administration, www.afm.ro, and the approval for scrapping is granted only after the eligibility criteria have been checked. The car should be at least 15 years old, the owner must have their domicile in the town where the money is requested and must have paid all due local taxes and fees. It is also very important for the car owner to check whether their administrative-territorial unit – commune, city, municipality or sector – is enrolled in this program. Authorities say that the funding allows the scrapping of 100,000 old and polluting vehicles.






    People accepted in the local car-scrapping program cannot use the money received to buy a second-hand car with a Euro 5 or lower pollution standard. People can sign up for the program until August 31 or until the allocated budget is used up. Next, the administration sends the list of those registered to the town halls, which will continue the procedure at the local level. According to the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers, at the end of 2021, Romania had one of the oldest car fleets in Europe, with an average age of 15.1 years, being exceeded only by the Czech Republic (15.6 years), Estonia (16.8 years) and Greece (17 years). At the opposite pole are Luxembourg (7.6 years), Denmark (8.5 years) and Austria (8.7 years).

    According to the General Driving Licenses and Registrations Directorate (DGPCI), at the end of last year, over 7.8 million cars were registered in Romania, almost a third (2.4 million) over 20 years old, and 2.38 million aged between 16 and 20 years. Out of the total number of cars on the roads in Romania, only 1.5 million have been manufactured in the in the last 10 years. Romanians prefer diesel cars (over 50%), and the most bought models are Volkswagen and Dacia, manufactured at the Mioveni plant in southern Romania, owned by the French company Renault. Mention should be made of the fact that at the end of 2022, there were more than 24 thousand cars with fully electric motors, almost double compared to the previous year. (MI)

  • July 31, 2023 UPDATE

    July 31, 2023 UPDATE

    Budget. The leaders of the governing coalition in Bucharest have established a series of measures to counter the budget deficit. According to the Social Democratic Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, they include the elimination of the 200,000 vacancies in the budget sector, the reduction of the number of management positions in the public system and the capping of management allowances in state companies. Moreover, adjusting royalties in keeping with the inflation rate is considered. The Speaker of the Senate, the Liberal Nicolae Ciucă, has stated that that in state-owned companies the number of councilors will be halved, and the administrative boards will have a maximum of seven members. In the future, holiday vouchers will be granted only to employees in the public sector whose monthly gross salaries are lower than 10 thousand lei.



    Medical care. Pregnant women in Romania will no longer have to pay for their tests if they do not have medical insurance or if the laboratories have exhausted their monthly ceiling for free tests. The National Health Insurance House has announced that it has increased funding for preventive medical investigations in these cases. At the first visit, the doctor can register the patient and issue a document certifying the existence of the pregnancy. If the person is uninsured, they can become insured during pregnancy and childbirth by simply submitting the respective certificate to the Health Insurance House in whose records they are, without any other expenses.



    Vehicles. The local segment of the car scrapping program known as “Rablaˮ started on Monday in an effort by the Romanian authorities to get heavily polluting vehicles out of circulation. The owners get some 600 Euro in exchange, without being obliged to buy a new vehicle. Apart from the funds provided by the Environment Ministry, local authorities contribute 20% of the vouchers granted to citizens who de-register cars older than 15 years. The Environment Minsitry has earmarked some 50 million Euro for this program and estimates that around 100,000 polluting cars will be scrapped.



    Training. The training ship Mircea has returned to the military port of Constanţa, after a 28-day training session in the Mediterranean. On board were 64 sophomore students with the “Mircea cel Bătrân” Naval Academy, as well as 10 exchange students from partner academies in Bulgaria, Poland, Turkey, Latvia, Italy and Spain. The training ship had stopovers in the ports of Piraeus in Greece, Taranto in Italy and Izmir in Turkey, and completed an over 2,200 mile journey.



    Concert. On Sunday night, the Bucharest National Opera orchestra performed for the first time at the Musikverein hall in Vienna, which hosts the traditional New Years concert in the Austrian capital city. The concert was a tribute to the Romanian composer Ciprian Porumbescu, as the year 2023 was declared the year of Ciprian Porumbescu, to mark 170 years since the birth and 140 years since the death of the famous composer. The program consisted exclusively of works by Ciprian Porumbescu: “New Moon,” the first Romanian operetta, the “Ballad,” the “Romanian Rhapsody.” The soloists, choir and orchestra of the National Opera House in Bucharest were conducted by Daniel Jinga, with special guests including maestro Gheorghe Zamfir and the soloist Maria Coman.



    Ukraine. Ukraine has confirmed that Saudi Arabia will host a peace summit aimed, according to Kyiv, at restoring peace in line with the “Ukrainian formula,” EFE reports. According to the head of Ukraines presidential office Andriy Yermak, apart from guaranteeing peace for Ukraine, the 10-point formula will create mechanisms to counter future conflicts. For Kyiv, the formula includes the withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory. According to Western diplomats, the choice of Saudi Arabia to host the talks is designed to facilitate the participation of China, which has good relations with Moscow and with Riyadh. (MI)

  • The Week in Review 27 April – May 3

    The Week in Review 27 April – May 3

    President Klaus Iohannis pays a visit to Italy


    Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis paid an official visit to Italy, the country home to the largest Romanian community in the Diaspora. The president met with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who said that the members of the Romanian community in the Peninsula are well integrated, contribute to Italy’s economic growth and represent a bridge between the two countries. President Iohannis and Prime Minister Renzi also reviewed economic and cultural bilateral relations, as well as Moldova’s bid to join the European Union. In Rome, Klaus Iohannis met with his counterpart Sergio Mattarella and with Romanian students and scholarship beneficiaries with the Accademia di Romania, whom he congratulated for their excellent results. Klaus Iohannis said he would pay another visit to Rome on May 15, during his visit to the Vatican.



    The Romanian Senate endorses the Fiscal and Fiscal Procedure Codes


    The Romanian Senate has endorsed the Fiscal Code and Fiscal Procedure Code bills. The new codes are aimed at reducing taxation by eliminating certain taxes and duties, curbing tax evasion, boosting consumption and stimulating economic growth. Among the provisions in the code are the VAT reduction to 9% for foodstuffs starting June 1, and from 24 to 20%, as of January 1, 2016, for all goods and services. The new codes also provide for the scrapping of the special building tax and the 16% tax on dividends, and for reducing the flat tax rate from 16 to 14% starting January 2019. The opposition has criticized the Government’s measures, labeling them unrealistic. The new Fiscal Code is to be tabled to the Chamber of Deputies for debate, which holds the decision-making power in this case.




    Prime Minister Victor Ponta visits Strasbourg and begins tour of Gulf states


    Prime Minister Victor Ponta paid an official visit to Strasbourg, where he met with high-ranking EU officials. Talks focused, among others, on the economic context in Romania, in relation to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker’s investment plan. Victor Ponta assured Romania’s partners in the EU that Romania is a prime competitor in the region, after four years of economic growth. Also this week the Prime Minister began his tour of the Gulf area, with his first stop being Saudi Arabia. It was actually the first visit of a Romanian Prime Minister since diplomatic relations were set up with this country, 20 years ago. The tour’s main objective is to revitalize political and diplomatic relations and consolidate economic and trade relations. The Prime Minister will showcase business and investment opportunities in Romania, in such fields as constructions, infrastructure, agriculture, industry, energy, IT and healthcare.






    The Senate rejected the so-called “Big Brother” draft law


    The Senate in Bucharest rejected upon re-examination the draft law on cyber security, the so-called “Big Brother” law. It had been previously rejected by the lower chamber. The National Liberal Party, in the opposition, argued against this law in Constitutional Court in January. The court ruled that this bill was unconstitutional overall, lacking coherence, clarity, predictability, as well as having procedural gaps, since it lacked endorsement from the Higher Defense Council. The bill addresses, among other things, the retention of data generated by providers of public electronic communication networks, as well as by the providers of electronic communication services for the public.




    The Romanian economy should be prepared to join the Eurozone, according to National Bank governor, Mugur Isarescu


    Romania should prepare carefully to join the Eurozone, especially by eliminating sources that put great pressure on the economy, said National Bank Governor, Mugur Isarescu. According to him, before adopting the Euro in 2019, the Romanian economy should be prepared, because the standing exchange rate regime entails some risks. Thus, there is need for restructuring state companies and the energy market, as well as clarifications regarding co-financing from the state budget and developing road infrastructure. According to a recent study, the number of insolvencies has dropped in Romania in the first quarter of this year to less than half compared to the same period in 2014, even though the social and financial impact upon the economy was greater, considering that layoffs went up 24%.



    The 2015 car-scrapping scheme was officially launched


    Romania has kicked off the car-scrapping scheme for 2015. In exchange for scrapping a car older than eight years, owners get a voucher worth 6,500 lei, about 1470 Euro, which they can spend on purchasing a new car or transfer to another natural person. The amount allocated this year for the program is 200 million lei (about 45 million Euro), 33% more than last year, and the authorities expect 20,000 drivers to get new cars. In the ten years the program has been running, about half a million old cars got scrapped. In addition, the Ministry of Finance plans to change by June the emissions sticker for cars, in order to encourage the purchase of less polluting cars.