Radio România Internațional

Tag: cash payments

  • November 7, 2023

    November 7, 2023


    ROMANIANS IN GAZA – 103 Romanians and members of their families in Gaza were last night given permission to cross the Rafah border into Egypt, the Romanian Foreign Ministry has announced. The Romanians were notified about border-crossing procedures, and their evacuation to Egypt will be carried out today, in compliance with specific regulations. Subsequently, they will be flown home from Cairo onboard a special flight. Romanian authorities remain in contact with Egyptian and Israeli authorities with a view to bringing home the remaining Romanian citizens in Gaza whove asked for assistance.




    CEASEFIRE – Leaders of UN agencies have called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, one month since hostilities broke out in the area. “An entire population is besieged and under attack, denied access to the essentials for survival, bombed in their homes, shelters, hospitals and places of worship. This is unacceptable,” UN leaders said in a joint statement. The 18 signatories include Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and UN aid chief Martin Griffiths. In turn, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the situation in Gaza is a crisis of humanity, and that Palestinian territories bombed by the Israeli armed forces are rapidly turning into a “graveyard for children”. The so-called Hamas authorities announced the death toll has exceeded 10,000 in Gaza, of whom 4,000 children.




    CASH PAYMENTS – Cash payments made by natural persons or self-employed people will be restricted to a maximum of 1,000 EUR per day starting January 1, 2024, and further down to 500 EUR starting January 1, 2025. The limitation was included in the package of fiscal and budget measures over which Marcel Cioalcus Cabinet assumed responsibility in Parliament and which was ruled constitutional by the Constitutional Court. Marcel Ciolacu says the measure is designed to combat tax evasion. The Prime Minister also mentioned the government doesnt want to eliminate cash payments altogether, arguing however that Romania has the highest tax evasion rate at EU level, totaling 160 bln lei, accounting for 10% of the GDP. Representatives of SMEs and experts alike have criticized the measure.




    REVIEW – The Romanian Labor Ministry announced it will review the allowances and benefits awarded to people with disabilities in Ilfov County, after discovering irregularities in 1,400 of the 1,700 files they have examined so far. Minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu said the Ministry has notified the authorities and the members of the Ilfov County Committee for the Evaluation of People with Disabilities have been dismissed. The topic was discussed at coalition level, and its leaders decided to conduct checks regarding the way disability certificates are issued nationwide. Some 800,000 people own disability certificates and receive financial aid, which puts Romania at the top of the list in Europe, Prime Minister Ciolacu says. In turn, Liberal leader Nicolae Ciucă says it is hard to believe Romania has such a high number of people with disabilities.




    MOLDOVA – The Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), the ruling pro-European party in the Republic of Moldova, has won most of the district councils in Sundays local election. PAS failed to win in large cities. Former Socialist Ion Ceban won the race for the Chișinău City Hall from the first round. Authorities say the election campaign was marked by unprecedented interference from the Russian Federation in election processes, including the illegal funding of parties and swaying voters and candidates. The Russian Federation has denied the accusations. The local election is seen as a test ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections, which will be held in 2024 and 2025, respectively, in the Republic of Moldova. (VP)




  • November 5, 2023 UPDATE

    November 5, 2023 UPDATE

    Cash payments — Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Monday is to have a working meeting with the representatives of the members of the Executive Council of the Romanian Association of Banks, according to the agenda announced by the Government. On Friday, the PM announced that he would convene a meeting at the Government headquarters with specialists from the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Romania, as well as with representatives of small entrepreneurs, banks and civil society, ‘to make a decision on the issue of cash’. Ciolacu stated that it is ‘intolerable’ to ‘artificially’ increase bank commissions and that ‘the banks greed cannot be fueled by the debate on cash’. As of this month, cash payments to companies and individuals are reduced in Romania, according to a measure included in the package of fiscal-budgetary measures assumed by the Government in Parliament. The decision would be intended to combat tax evasion. On the other hand, some banks have notified their customers that they want to increase the commissions for deposits and withdrawals at the counters.



    PSD – The National Political Council of the Social Democratic Party – PSD (number one in the government coalition in Bucharest) meets on Monday to establish its electoral strategy, in the run up to the 2024 elections. On Friday, in a meeting of the extended leadership of the National Liberal Party – PNL (junior partner in the coalition), the liberals decided not to have joint lists with the current social-democratic governing partners, but to go on their own lists to next years polls, with the avowed target of winning them all. Next year, elections for the European and national Parliaments, local and presidential elections are scheduled in Romania.



    Mini-football — The Romanian team won the Minifootball World Cup for the first time, on Saturday evening, in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (United Arab Emirates), after a dramatic victory in the final against Kazakhstan, score 12-11, in the penalty shootout. Romania, which played its third consecutive world semifinal, had two World Cup bronze medals from three participations, in the USA (2015) and Australia (2019). The world champion trophy was the only major title missing from the national team’s showcase. The national team was, in the past, six times European champion (2010-2015) and runner-up in the last two editions of the EMF EURO (2018 and 2022).



    Handball — Romania’s mens national handball team was defeated by the French team with the score 40-21, on Saturday evening, in Toulouse, in a friendly match played in the run up to their participation in next years European Championship in Germany. The final tournament is scheduled for January 10-28, 2024, and Romania is part of Group B, alongside Spain, Austria and Croatia. The two top-ranking teams in the group qualify for the next stage. Romania had not qualified for a European Championship since 1996.



    Gaza – The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, discussed, on Sunday, in Ramallah, with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, at a time when the international community fears an expansion of the war between Israel and Hamas in the West Bank, AFP and Reuters report. It is the first visit of the US secretary of state to the West Bank since the beginning of the war on October 7, after the bloody attack on the Israeli territory by the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip, followed by the harsh response of the Jewish state. Antony Blinkens unannounced visit to Ramallah comes in the context of his Middle East tour, which also included Israel and Jordan. The BBC reports that the Israeli Defense Ministry announced that its forces had entered populated areas of Gaza City, and eyewitnesses reported heavy gunfire and fierce ground fighting on the outskirts. At the same time, the Israeli army announced that it is reopening, on Sunday, a corridor for civilians in the north of Gaza, for their movement to the south. The United Nations warns that 1.5 million people have been displaced in the area since the beginning of the conflict, and half of them take shelter in its camps. (LS)

  • November 5, 2023

    November 5, 2023

    Cash payment — Romania’s social-democratic prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, announced a meeting at the government headquarters, in the following days, with the representatives of the main banks and with small entrepreneurs to debate the subject of cash payments. The topic has gained momentum in recent days, after some banks allegedly notified customers that they want to increase the commissions for depositing and withdrawing money at the counters. In this context, Nicolae Ciucă, the leader of the governing partners from the PNL, says that the measure of limiting cash payments should be re-discussed. According to the fiscal-budgetary measures that apply at the end of this year, cash payments are limited between a legal entity and a natural person to 5,000 lei (about 1,000 Euros) per day, except for salary payments, and between two individuals at 10,000 lei (2000 Euros) per day. Between legal entities, cash payments cannot exceed 1,000 lei (200 Euros) per day. From January 1, 2025, these ceilings would be halved. The purpose of the measure is to combat tax evasion. The most affected by the banks decisions and the limitation of cash payments are the small traders, especially those from the rural area, where many customers buy with cash, and the traders make their supplies from the big cash-and-carry stores paying cash too.



    Moldova — The citizens of the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population are called to the polls on Sunday to elect their mayors and local councilors. The election results are also important in the run up to next years presidential elections and of the parliamentary elections in 2025, which will decide whether the neighboring country will continue its European course. The main stake is the city of Chisinau, with the highest concentration of population and resources. A record number of 28 candidates were registered for the position of mayor. The vote is taking place against the backdrop of unprecedented interference by Russia in the electoral process in the Republic of Moldova, through illegal financing of parties, corruption of voters and candidates. On Friday evening, the ‘Chance’ Party, affiliated with the fugitive oligarch Ilan Şor, was eliminated from the electoral race, after the Intelligence and Security Service reported that the party bought voters with money received from Russia.



    Mini-football — The Romanian team won the Minifootball World Cup for the first time, on Saturday evening, in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (United Arab Emirates), after a dramatic victory in the final against Kazakhstan, score 12-11, in the penalty shootout. Romania, which played its third consecutive world semifinal, had two World Cup bronze medals from three participations, in the USA (2015) and Australia (2019). The world champion trophy was the only major title missing from the national team’s showcase. The national team was, in the past, six times European champion (2010-2015) and runner-up in the last two editions of the EMF EURO (2018 and 2022).



    Gaudeamus — The Gaudeamus book fair, organized by Radio Romania, in Timişoara (west), European Capital of Culture 2023, comes to an end on Sunday. The event brings together 40 of the most important publishing houses and book distribution agencies in the country, which offer readers the latest releases and bestsellers. There are promotional packages and substantial discounts for the thousands of volumes on display. Between November 22-26, a new edition of the Gaudeamus Radio Romania Fair, the longest-running and most popular project of its kind in the country, will be organized at the Romexpo Compound in Bucharest.



    Gaza – The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, discussed, on Sunday, in Ramallah, with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, at a time when the international community fears an expansion of the war between Israel and Hamas in the West Bank, AFP and Reuters report. It is the first visit of the US secretary of state to the West Bank since the beginning of the war on October 7, after the bloody attack on the Israeli territory by the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip, followed by the harsh response of the Jewish state. Antony Blinkens unannounced visit to Ramallah comes in the context of his Middle East tour, which also included Israel and Jordan. The BBC reports that the Israeli Defense Ministry announced that its forces had entered populated areas of Gaza City, and eyewitnesses reported heavy gunfire and fierce ground fighting on the outskirts. At the same time, the Israeli army announced that it is reopening, on Sunday, a corridor for civilians in the north of Gaza, for their movement to the south. The United Nations warns that 1.5 million people have been displaced in the area since the beginning of the conflict, and half of them take shelter in its camps. (LS)