The Netherlands have officially given the green light for Bulgaria and Romania’s full Schengen membership, following a vote in the Dutch parliament which took place on Wednesday and supported this recent decision of the government, relates the news site of the Bulgarian public television, says News.ro. On Wednesday, the Freedom party of the extremist Geert Wilders, the largest party in the Dutch government coalition, tried to introduce a parliamentary motion through which to urge the government to vote against Bulgaria and Romania’s full Schengen membership. However, this motion was rejected. The other parties in the government coalition of the country voted, similarly, against this. For years, the Netherlands stood in the way of the two countries becoming part of the Schengen Area. They were joined in this by countries like Austria. But the previous Cabinet, who were in caretaker status at the time, changed their opinion on this last year. They felt that Bulgaria would help better protect Europe's borders along Turkey. They also believed that Bulgaria would combat corruption and would do a good job at safeguarding the rule of law. Austria stipulated that controls at the country's borders should remain in place, but also withdrew the latter resistance last month. All vetoes against both countries, which had been agreed to join the Schengen Area together, have thus been removed. EU interior ministers are due to vote in Brussels on Thursday on whether Bulgaria and Romania should be fully admitted to the Schengen area. If the decision on Romania and Bulgaria's full Schengen membership is approved by the JHA Council on Thursday, land border controls between and with Romania and Bulgaria will be lifted from 1 January 2025. However, the two countries have pledged to continue random border checks for another six months.
The gross income of employees who worked full-time under a labour contract and were paid for the entire month of October 2024 was RON 8,374, more than a quarter above the basic gross salary of RON 6,553, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) published on Friday.Around 40% of these employees earned […]
Over 31,600 building permits for residential properties were issued in the first ten months of this year, up 4.1% compared with the same period last year, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) published on Friday.Increases were recorded in all development regions: West (+297 permits), Centre (+235), North-West (+192), North-East (+134), South-East […]
VAT revenues increased in the third quarter of this year by 6.74 billion lei compared to the same period last year, totaling 35.48 billion RON, out of a total of 94.75 billion RON for the first nine months of 2025, according to data transmitted on Monday by the Ministry of Finance.Of the amount of 6.74 […]
Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) listed on Friday a new bond issue on the Regulated Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), worth 1.12 billion RON, the BVB said in a release.This is the 11th bond issue listed by BCR on the Stock Exchange to date, bringing the total value of BCR's listed bonds close to […]
Romania's insurance sector is strengthening its performance against the backdrop of a dynamic market undergoing significant structural transformation, according to a new study on developments in the insurance markets of Central and Eastern Europe, conducted by a consultancy firm in partnership with a research provider."Romania stands out as one of the most dynamic insurance […]
The minimum turnover tax is a barrier to investment, and in a period when the private sector is undergoing restructuring and layoffs, it adds additional pressure on companies, according to a letter signed by 14 investor organizations that once again request the elimination of the minimum tax."In view of the discussions on the construction […]
