Romania and Hungary sign energy cooperation protocol
Romania and Hungary have signed a protocol for energy cooperation, at the end of the 7th Mixt Inter-government Commission on Energy. According to this agreement, common strategy aimed at developing commodity rail and river transports to reduce pollution are to be elaborated by representatives of the two countries. There will also be common energy projects and a Romanian-Hungarian trade chamber is to be open in Budapest.
Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos is to visit Brussels
The Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos will go on a two day visit to Brussels on Monday, where he will meet European officials, including the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker and the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz. Mr. Ciolos will lay out his government’s priorities, its vision for economic development and also Romania’s priorities in the European semester. Subjects on the agenda also include the migration crisis in Europe, the energy security inside the EU and Romania’s progress in the Mechanism for Verification and Cooperation, as highlighted in the latest report by the European Commission, as well as the country’s prospects of integration in the Schengen area, a Government statement says.
Romania’s economic growth in 2015 was higher than in the previous year, INS says
The Romanian National Statistics Institute has released its first estimates related to the country’s economic growth in 2015. It says that the economy has risen by 3.7% compared to the previous year, and the figure is a bit higher that the European Commission’s estimates and those announced by the National Forecast Commission. Nevertheless, the economic evolution does not seem to have been influenced by the important fiscal and labor changes adopted in the second half of last year. Since June 2015, the Value Added Tax (VAT) for food products was cut to 9%, and, as form July, the national minimum wage was increased to 975 lei. An increase in lending and consumption led to an economic growth of 1.1% in the fourth trimester of 2015, but still lower than the growth figure in the third trimester, of 1.5%, compared to the second trimester, when the VAT was not cut and the minimum wage was not increased.
Romania will take part in the 2016 International Tourism Exchange in Milan
Romania is to participate in this year’s edition of the International Tourism Exchange, which is taking place in the Italian city of Milan. Romania’s stand will include cultural circuits in Transylvania and Bucovina, city breaks, rural tourism, as well as options for business and nature tourism.
Mădălina Brotăcel – Agenţia de Presă RADOR
