Radio România Internațional

Tag: fuel excise

  • July 1, 2024 UPDATE

    July 1, 2024 UPDATE

    TALKS Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Monday held talks with political parties on the presidential election schedule. The Save Romania Union, a.k.a USR, stood for holding these election in November, the term set by the law. The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) has voiced its readiness for the election in mid-September, as the head of the Executive repeatedly announced. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) wants these election in October, whereas SOS Romania chose the month of November. The latest government talks on the election schedule come against the disputes within the ruling PSD-PNL coalition. In another round of talks, concurrently with the government talks, the PNL leadership unanimously voted in favour of the month of November for the presidential election. We recall that this year, besides the presidential election, legislative elections are to take place in Romania in December .

     

    OSCE Bucharest is hosting the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose general theme is “The Role of the OSCE in the Current Security Architecture: A Parliamentary Perspective”. The 31st meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly is an event of a major geopolitical importance, according to the head of the Romanian Parliament’s delegation to the OSCE, Dan Barna. He added that Romania’s hosting it shows the recognition of its role in the regional context of the war in Ukraine and the European security developments for the OSCE countries. The war waged by Russia against Ukraine is one of the main topics on the agenda of the meeting, Barna also said. The over 250 MPs gathering in Bucharest these days will also discuss economic development, women’s and men’s equal involvement in political life and the involvement of young people in the decision-making process.

     

    PRICES Excise duties on fuel again went up in Romania from 1st July, with the price of one litre of petrol expected to go up by around 0.43 euros, while that of diesel oil by around 0.4 euros. Gas prices will also see some changes, with the regulatory body approving an increase of 19% on average in supply prices. The minimum wage goes up to 3,700 lei from 3,300, also from 1st July.

     

    POLL 74% of Romanians see inflation as the main reason why they will spend more in the next six months, according to a survey published by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Most respondents believe they will be spending more on food, clothing, DIY products and travel. 46% and 39% respectively say discounts, followed by promotional offers are the main reasons why people change brands. The purchasing decision is influenced especially by the ads on social networks, in the opinion of more than 70% of respondents, which is similar to worldwide trends. Facebook remains the most popular social media app in Romania, while younger users prefer Instagram and TikTok. 36% of Romanian consumers buy their products from physical shops, while 29% buy online on their PCs and 31% from their phones. The Voice of Consumer 2024 survey was conducted using a sample of 20,662 consumers from 31 countries and territories, including Romania.

    (bill)

  • February 23, 2022 UPDATE

    February 23, 2022 UPDATE

    ROMANIA AND UKRAINE -
    Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă has assured his fellow Romanians, in the context of the
    Ukrainian crisis, that all necessary institutional measures have been taken, in
    keeping with the decisions of the Supreme Defense Council. He explained that
    these steps were taken in coordination with the NATO allies and EU member
    states. Prime Minister Ciucă
    called on the relevant ministers to keep monitoring the situation, coordinate and
    remain vigilant. In another development, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies
    in Bucharest will convene in a joint session on March 1, to adopt a political
    declaration in support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and
    independence. On Tuesday, Cristian Chirteş,
    chairman of the Joint Standing Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and the
    Senate for the exercise of parliamentary control over the activity of the
    Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), said that Romania’s security situation
    from the perspective of the legal attributions of the Romanian Intelligence
    Service (SRI) is stable. He also said that, in the context of the Ukrainian
    crisis, cyber-attacks targeting critical infrastructure, Romanian ministries
    and agencies, has increased.


    CRISIS IN UKRAINE -
    On Wednesday, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, signed a decree calling
    up reservists aged 18 to 60. Kiev has also urged the West to impose additional
    sanctions against Russia, which should target the economy and president Vladimir
    Putin’s inner circle. The USA adopted what president Joe Biden has called a
    first series of sanctions in response to Moscow recognizing the separatist
    republics in Ukraine. We’ve cut off Russia’s government from Western funding,
    the White House leader said, adding that additional sanctions will target the
    Russian elites and members of their families. The US president described the
    latest developments as the beginning of a Russian invasion, saying that an
    American battalion and several F-35 state-of-the-art jets will be deployed this
    week to the Baltic region and in Eastern Europe. Troops will be sent to
    reinforce NATO’s eastern flank, not to fight Russia, president Biden also
    argued.


    ROMANIA-GREECE RELATIONS -
    President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday met in Bucharest Greece’s Prime Minister,
    Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The two officials reiterated their strong support for the
    territorial integrity of Ukraine, condemning the actions of the Russian
    Federation as violations of international law. The two also underscored the importance
    of maintaining close cooperation at both EU and NATO levels. The meeting also
    highlighted the excellent relations between the two countries, boosted by a
    series of factors such as strong economic cooperation, an interest in expanding
    sectorial cooperation, stepping up mutual investment and implementing energy
    and infrastructure interconnection projects. President Iohannis hailed the
    signing of a Joint Declaration on strengthening bilateral cooperation, a
    document signed by the prime ministers of Romania and Greece on this occasion.
    Prime Minister Mitsotakis expressed his gratitude for the support Romania provided
    in extinguishing last summer’s wildfires.


    COVID-19 – Romania reported on Wednesday 11,477 new
    cases of Covid-19 and 119 related deaths, of which 9 from a previous date. Of the
    nearly 9,000 Covid patients treated in hospital, a little over 1,000 are in
    intensive care. In terms of vaccination, about 1,000 people had the first shot
    in the last 24 hours. The Omicron variant becomes quasi-dominant in Romania,
    with over 95% of the results indicating infection with this strain of the
    virus, Health Minister Alexandru Rafila said. In his opinion, in about three
    weeks the number of infections nation-wide could go down, with hundreds of new
    daily cases being expected instead of thousands, as is the case now. Minister Rafila
    also said a 6th wave of the pandemic is out of the question right
    now.


    INFLATION – The annual inflation rate in the EU
    increased in January up to 5.6%, from 5.3% in December 2021, according to data
    made public by the Eurostat on Wednesday. The member states with the highest
    inflation rates are Lithuania (12.3%), Estonia (11%) and the Czech Republic
    (8.8%). As compared to the situation in December 2021, the annual inflation
    rate in the first month of 2022 went down in 8 member states and increased in
    19 countries, Romania included, from 6.7% to 7.2%. Romania ranks 11th
    among the countries with the highest annual inflation rates. The countries with
    the smallest annual inflation rates are France (3.3%), Portugal (3.4%) and
    Sweden (3.9%).


    FUEL – Ruling coalition parties have agreed to temporarily
    cut the fuel excise by 50%. The measure reduces by 1 RON the retail price of
    petrol and diesel, Finance Minister Adrian Câciu has said. The proposal was supported by the
    Social Democrats, while their leader, Marcel Ciolacu, said the solution is
    aimed at preventing prices from going up. In turn, Liberal leader Florin Cîțusaid his
    party agrees, in principle, with any measure that reduces the fiscal burden,
    but added that, if the retail price of fuel does not go down, somebody will
    have to take responsibility. The National Liberal Party (PNL), the Social
    Democratic Party (PSD) and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania
    (UDMR) have also agreed to further subsidize electricity and natural gas bills
    in the month of April. (EE & VP)