Radio România Internațional

Tag: Financial Supervisory Authority

  • The Week in Review: April 9-15

    The Week in Review: April 9-15

    The private pensions scandal -
    measures and penalties


    The Financial Supervisory
    Authority in Romania on Thursday levelled penalties against NN, the country’s
    biggest private pensions fund for spreading information meant to destabilise
    the pensions system. On Wednesday, NN sent an email to all its clients warning
    about possible measures to nationalise private pensions funds. The leader of
    the Social Democratic Party and speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu
    Dragnea said Parliament would soon take steps to sack the entire management of
    the Financial Supervisory Authority. The Finance Ministry has categorically
    denied plans to nationalise the private pensions funds.



    The Serbian police detain former
    Romanian MP Sebastian Ghita in Belgrade


    The former Romanian MP and
    businessman Sebastian Ghita, who was on an international most wanted fugitives
    list, was tracked and detained by the Serbian police on Thursday night in
    Belgrade four months after his disappearance. The Romanian authorities are now taking
    the necessary action to obtain his extradition. When asked for identification
    by the police, he presented false EU ID. Sebastian Ghita disappeared on the 21st
    of December 2016 and was first named on the country’s most wanted fugitives
    list for breaking the conditions of his bail. On the 10th of
    January, a Supreme Court panel issued a European arrest warrant for Ghita, who
    was then also named on an international most wanted fugitives list through
    Interpol. Ghita is facing trial in two corruption cases and is under criminal
    investigation in two others.



    The unitary pay law is yet to
    be submitted to Parliament


    The submission of the
    much-awaited unitary pay law for public sector employees to Parliament for
    debate and approval has been postponed. The leader of the ruling Social
    Democratic Party and Chamber of Deputies speaker Liviu Dragnea said the bill
    will also remain available for public input this week. The bill provides for an
    increase in monthly incomes by more than 50% over the following five years. The
    planned increases are estimated at more than 7 billion euros in total. Prime
    minister Sorin Grindeanu says the talks with trade unions and the institutions
    targeted by the bill will continue in Parliament to speed up the passing of the
    law. The law, which is supposed to come into force on the 1st of
    July, covers all public institutions with the exception of the National Bank of
    Romania and the Financial Supervisory Authority. The army and police staff are
    the first to benefit from the pay rises. The other categories of public sector
    employees will see their salaries grow as of January next year. The president
    will have the biggest salary in the public system, accounting for 12 minimum
    wages per month. The salaries of the highest dignitaries will drop, while those
    of parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors will go up.



    Vaccination bill is made public


    The Romanian healthcare ministry
    on Tuesday published its new vaccination bill. This provides for the creation of
    county vaccination commissions able to step in if parents refuse the compulsory
    immunisation scheme. Healthcare minister Florian Bodog says a chapter
    containing penalties will also be introduced into the bill after public and
    parliamentary debate. He says his ministry will assume responsibility for the
    treatment of the possible side effects of vaccination. According to the
    ministry, 21 persons have died in Romania from measles. Since last September,
    around 4,000 cases have been reported, according to the National Centre for the
    Communicable Disease Surveillance and Control. To contain the spread of
    measles, medical authorities continue a campaign to vaccinate children aged
    between 9 months and 9 years.



    Government adopts country’s
    decentralisation strategy


    The government adopted the
    country’s decentralisation strategy on Wednesday. Deputy Prime Minister Sevil
    Shhaideh says all ministries will carry out impact studies in the next three
    months and that the sectoral laws regulating the decentralisation process will
    be adopted within the next 7 months at the latest. The areas covered by the
    process are agriculture, culture, tourism, the environment, healthcare,
    education and extracurricular activities, youth and sport. The general goal of
    the strategy is the transfer of new responsibilities, with the exception of
    those relating to inspection and control, to local authorities, namely mayors
    and local and county councils. Many of these responsibilities are currently
    held by the ministries’ decentralised directorates.



    Crowding at border check
    points in Romania



    Traffic is busy at Romania’s border crossing
    points following the implementation, on the 7th of April, of a new
    European regulation tightening border control ahead of the Easter holidays.
    Waiting time at the border varies from one to six hours. The busiest
    checkpoints are in the west of the country. The authorities are trying to
    strike a balance between citizen security and traffic flow and recommend the
    use of all border checkpoints. To support Romanian citizens travelling abroad
    during the Easter holidays, the foreign ministry has made available a travel
    guide containing useful recommendations, information about the most frequented
    tourist destinations at this time of the year, as well as information that can
    help Romanian citizens avoid possible unpleasant situations that may appear
    during their stay abroad.

  • September 20, 2016 UPDATE

    September 20, 2016 UPDATE

    CORRUPTION – Romanias President Klaus Iohannis is extremely disappointed with the Senates vote concerning the former Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea and warns that the politicians who hamper justice will never gain citizens trust and respect, a spokesperson for the presidency has stated. The head of state believes that some senators have again proven they have never understood that somebodys quilt or innocence cannot be established by a vote in parliament, but in a court of justice, and has reiterated that a rule of law state cannot be above the law. In their turn, prosecutors with the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) have said that the senators’ decision blocks further investigations and prevents Gabriel Oprea from answering to justice. On Monday, the Senators rejected the request filed by the National Anti-corruption Directorate for the prosecution of the former Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea, accused of manslaughter. A police officer died last year in a motorcycle accident while part of Opreas official motorcade. When the accident occurred, Oprea was actually heading for a private destination, which did not entitle him to benefit from an official motorcade.




    UN SUMMIT – New York is playing host to the first summit for refugees and migrants called by the UN, during the annual UN General Assembly meeting. Romanias delegation at the summit is headed by Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, who is accompanied by Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu. The leaders attending the summit are analysing the causes of migrant influxes and are trying to find solutions for the future. The Romanian officials are also promoting Romanias candidacy for a new term as non-permanent member of the Security Council for 2020-2021. On the sidelines of the event, Dacian Ciolos will meet with the UN Secretary General Bank Ki-moon and the presidents of Finland and Egypt. On Monday, Lazar Comanescu attended an informal meeting with his Bulgarian, Croat and Greek counterparts on European issues and also met with Victoria Nuland, the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State. The two officials talked about the bilateral strategic partnership, regional security, migration and means of approaching it.




    COUNTRY PROJECT – A committee having the task to draw up a so-called “country project” has been set up in Bucharest, the Presidency has announced. As many as 23 people are part of the committee, of whom ten independent members, one Government representative and two representatives for each parliamentary party. The committee will convene in the forthcoming period for a first meeting chaired by President Klaus Iohannis. According to the Presidency release, the country project represents a vision about how Romania should look like in the medium and long run, taking into account its status as EU member state and its strategic partnership with the US.




    BREXIT – Slovakias Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose country is holding the rotating presidency of the EU, has stated that the Union will make Brexit extremely painful, according to the British newspaper “The Independent”. Fico says Brussels will use Brexit to prove to the other member states how important it is to remain part of the EU. The Slovak Prime Minister has also stated that Great Britain will not be allowed to turn the EU workers into second-class workers, while still benefiting from the advantages of the single market. The British PM Theresa May has refused to guarantee the status of the EU citizens in Great Britain, but has stressed the fact that she wishes they stayed, provided the British citizens are respected in the EU member countries.




    ECONOMIC FORUM – Romanias capital Bucharest is hosting the 3rd Annual Economic Forum for Central and Eastern Europe. The event has brought together Forbes editors-in-chief from the entire region, but also authorities and business people. This year, talks are focusing on development, innovation and investment, both at macroeconomic level and by business sectors. The forum is intended as a platform for business models and investment directions.




    INSURANCE – The Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) announced on Tuesday that it will set, within 30 days after the enforcement of the Government’s emergency ordinance, the maximum level of the mandatory liability insurance for car owners. Last week Romania’s technocratic government passed an emergency ordinance freezing mandatory liability insurance fees for 6 months at a level to be announced by the Financial Supervisory Authority within a month at the most.




    TENNIS – Three Romanian tennis players are taking part in the WTA tournament in Seul, with 250,000 USD in prize money. Top seed and defending champion Irina Begu, overpowered South-Korean Su Jeong Hang, 2-0, to advance to the second round of the Korea Open on Tuesday. Begu will play on Thursday against Jana Cepelova of Slovakia. 55th ranked Monica Niculescu and Patricia Tig, number 135, have already qualified for the second round. Monica Niculescu will take on the Slovak Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, and Patricia Tig will try to defeat the winner of the match between Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium and the Czech Kristyna Pliskova. Monica Niculescu and Irina Begu may have to play against each other in the quarter finals.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • Hauliers versus Insurers

    Hauliers versus Insurers

    As a result of the market liberalisation Romania committed itself to as early as 2007, the mandatory liability insurance for car owners grew by as much as 2.5 times compared to the first quarter of 2015. This is about to change, following a massive protest by road hauliers, who have obtained from the Financial Supervisory Authority the promise that the insurance fee will be calculated differently in the future. Thus, the most expensive insurance policy, that for high tonnage trucks, will not exceed the equivalent in lei of some 1,700 euros, down from 4,500 euros at the moment.



    After a meeting between hauliers and the Financial Supervisory Authority, it was established that the factors that will be taken into account when calculating reference fees for the mandatory liability insurance will be frequency of claims and average damage, as well as their trends, the charge for administrative costs, a maximum of 25% fee purchase and the charge for the application of the bonus-malus system. Prior to this agreement, truckers staged a large-scale protest in Bucharest and tens of other cities in Romania despite a government emergency ordinance freezing mandatory liability insurance fees for 6 months at a level to be announced by the Financial Supervisory Authority within a month at the most.



    The negotiations held with the government had not established, however, the compensation ceiling, and it was uncertainty over this issue that made truckers take to the streets until they reached an agreement with the Financial Supervisory Authority. Working groups will be created to come up with the reference fees, a process that will also involve hauliers’ associations. Once these aspects are established, the agreed fees will only have to be approved by the Competition Council and the Government in order to come into effect.



    While an agreement was yet to be reached between hauliers and the Financial Supervisory Authority, president Klaus Iohannis had called on the institutions with responsibilities in the field to resume dialogue with hauliers and insurance companies to resolve the situation and find a long-term solution to the hauliers’ problems.



    (Translated by Cristina Mateescu)