The European Commission warned Romania on Wednesday to remove its cap on gas prices or potentially face legal action over the policy, which the EU executive branch said violates the bloc's energy market rules. Gas and power bills for Romanian households, small businesses and public institutions have been capped up to certain monthly consumption levels since November 2021, with suppliers compensated for the difference. In a notice published on Wednesday, the European Commission said the policy violates EU rules on the free formation of wholesale gas prices, since Romania's measure obliges firms to sell part of their production at a fixed wholesale price. "Regulated prices at the level of the EU-wide wholesale market distort price signals and effective market functioning," the Commission said. European wholesale gas prices began climbing in 2021 after Russia limited deliveries. Prices soared to record highs the following year when Moscow further slashed supplies after its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Romania's government has two months to respond to the EU warning, after which the Commission can refer the case to the EU's top court, if the matter is unresolved. Ahead of its May 18 presidential election run-off, Romania currently has an interim government which cannot issue decrees or introduce policies. Former Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu resigned on Monday after hard-right eurosceptic George Simion won the first round of the presidential election re-run. The president elected this month will appoint a new prime minister. In February, the former government extended the gas price cap for a year, and prolonged the power price limits until June, to rein in consumers' bills. Romania produces almost all the gas it consumes domestically, through producers OMV Petrom, state-owned Romgaz and offshore producer Black Sea Oil & Gas.
Over 136,000 non-EU citizens held residence permits for employment in Romania at the end of August this year, most of them coming from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Moldova, and India, and two out of three immigrants live in Bucharest, Ilfov, Constanța, Timiș, and Cluj, according to a study conducted by the Economic and Social Council. […]
Romanian prosecutors conducted house searches in 12 locations in Bucharest and two in Târgu Mureș on Wednesday, November 26, in a case targeting former employees of bankrupt insurer Euroins. Specifically, the searches targeted 10 individuals who held executive management positions within Euroins, as well as the headquarters of legal entities controlled by the Bulgarian shareholders […]
Prices in Bucharest’s premium residential market have doubled over the past few years, reaching record highs amid a severe shortage of supply in the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox said. Areas such as Primăverii, Kiseleff, Aviatorilor, and Dorobanți continue to dominate demand. Over the past 2 or 3 years, prices for premium […]
The Romanian Consulate in New York shared on social media the story of George Pomuț (George Pomutz, born Gheorghe Pomuț), the Romanian-American who facilitated the sale of Alaska to the US. Despite his role in US history, the Romanian is largely unknown today, the Consulate noted. Pomuț was born in the Hungarian town of Gyula, […]
Shares of Cris-Tim Family Holding (BVB: CFH) began trading on the Bucharest Stock Exchange on November 26 after an IPO worth RON 454.35 million (EUR 89.3 million) conducted last month. Cris-Tim is now the largest entrepreneurial company in the food sector on the BVB Main Market. The funds raised from institutional and over 8,000 retail […]
The Fabrica de Glucoză area is undergoing one of the fastest urban transformations in Bucharest, strengthening its position as one of the most dynamic residential and investment hubs in the northern part of the city. The modernization of infrastructure, the reconfiguration of the Dimitrie Pompeiu – Fabrica de Glucoză – Pipera axis, and the overall […]
