The European Commission has approved a €358 million (1.772 billion RON) Romanian scheme to support small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs') affected by the coronavirus outbreak and the restrictive measures that the Romanian government had to implement to limit the spread of the virus. The public support was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework. Under the scheme, the aid will take the form of direct grants for investments in productive activities, up to a maximum amount of €1 million (4934.3 RON) per beneficiary. The scheme will be open to SMEs active in sectors particularly affected by the coronavirus outbreak, such as processing industry, construction, wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, transport and storage. In order to be eligible, companies must have been established in Romania by 31 December 2018 and must have recorded operating profits over 2019. The scheme is expected to benefit 4,000 companies. The Commission found that the Romanian scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the Temporary Framework. In particular, the aid (i) will not exceed €1.8 million per beneficiary; and (ii) will be granted no later than 31 December 2021. The Commission concluded that the measure is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State, in line with Article 107(3)(b) TFEU and the conditions set out in the Temporary Framework. On this basis, the Commission approved the measure under EU State aid rules.
Romania’s prime minister Ilie Bolojan reportedly opposes the idea of further prolonging the price-capping mechanism introduced in August 2023 and repeatedly extended so far, according to Ziarul Financiar. Ambiguous statements over the weekend indicated an incipient conflict among the ruling coalition’s...
Several thousand civil servants rallied in Bucharest on September 15 to oppose government reform plans that would reduce public administration staff, Radio Romania Actualități reported. Protesters gathered in Victoriei Square before marching to the Palace of Parliament,...
A memorandum establishing a new stock exchange in the Republic of Moldova was signed on September 15 in Chișinău, with the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) set to play a key role as shareholder and technology partner, according to Bursa.ro. The new Moldovan exchange will run...
The “service pensions”, also known as special pensions, paid to civilians (military not included in the report), cost the state budget and the state social insurance budget a total of RON 2.2 billion in 2024, over 22% more than in 2023,
The Czech company Tesla has officially announced to the government and local authorities that it is abandoning the project to build the energy storage factory in Brăila, an investment of EUR 90 million that was also to receive state aid, according to
Romanian households' purchasing power has deteriorated in July, both as a result of slower nominal advance (+5.2% y/y, the weakest in four years) but also because of a sharp rise in inflation (7.68% y/y) following the VAT rate hike, according to data published by the statistics office INS. The average net wage dropped by 3.0% […]
