A Romanian finance minister’s report on budget restructuring
Romanian Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici is expected to present a draft of the first budget restructuring before the leaders of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) on Monday. The draft budget will be subject to talks at the country’s cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Additional funds allow the government to cover the doubling of child allowance and all other measures adopted by parliament as cash available exceeds the limits established in the Budget Law, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said recently.The country’s Finance Ministry, municipalities, county councils as well as Ministries of Interior and Education are expected to receive more money while Health and Transport Ministries are getting less, according to the plan. The budget talks among PSD leaders were sharply criticised by the Opposition who said the restricturing plan should have been first submitted to debates in parliament.
Police raids in southern Romania
Police in the Romanian southern counties of Ilfov and Călăraşi were involved in seven raids on Monday with 10 arrest warrants expected against people suspected of gaining more than RON 600.000 from illegal sales of lumber from forest districts with no vouchers or other legal procedures. In Romania there is a hotline to check the origins of lumber sales and transports as the deforestation dramatically increased between 2000 and 2011.
Arcelor Mittal’s workers on „holiday”
The 1,200 employees of ‘Arcelor Mittal’ in the Romanian eastern town of Roman were sent on leave on Monday following a lack of contracts. The temporary closure of the Roman capacity is generated by declining oil prices wwhich led to a decrease of the demand for drilling pipes. Arcelor Mittal workers hope to resume work in August. „Oil workers sell cheaper so there is money left for investments. It may sound like a nonsense. But our only hope as employees is an increase of oil prices as such rise will be followed by growing pipe sales”, Petrotube deputy trade union leader Dănuţ Radu told reporters.
Romania’s first aqua park in Năvodari
The Romanian Black Sea resort of Năvodari is expected to host the country’s first aqua park by the end of 2015. The almost 6.5 million euro project refers to a four-flat building expected include therapy and gym facilities along with a swimming pool. The aqua park is supposed to receive some 600 visitors at a time. Năvodari is just some kilometers north from Mamaia, the most famous resort of the Romanian seaside. Half of the aqua park investment is covered by EU funds with the other half ensured by the local city hall.
Alexandru Danga
