The integrated development of the rural environment could provide inspiration for a new economic growth model, head of the European Commission's Representation Office in Bucharest Angela Filote said on Monday. ''When we look at the integrated development of the rural environment, we can find inspiration for a new economic growth model, where the economy grows in harmony with nature,'' said Filote. In a debate about the integrated development of rural areas, Filote advocated the increase in productivity in Romania and a transformation in the way to produce, referring in the context to both products with a low market value and to those with a high value, spanning the entire range from small-scale technologies to high technology. "If we carry on like this we will exhaust the planet's resources and we need an economic growth model based on intergenerational solidarity. Let us bequeath to the future generations a planet they can live on," said Angela Filote, referring not only to the situation in Romania, but to what happens at global scale. The head of European Commission's Representation Office in Bucharest considers that Romania is at a "turning point" where the current economic growth model can be changed. "In the 25 years since the Revolution, Romania has had an economic growth model that generated growth (...), yet without generating growth for the citizen. It is a consumption-based growth, which pretty much relies on very low wages. But a sustainable economic growth is based on production and it's this growth that also offers satisfaction to the citizen that leads to wage growth. The efforts made over several financial assistance programs which imposed austerity allowed the creation of fiscal space that made specific measures possible, wage growth included, but this fiscal space is not large enough to prompt a wage increase that can also reflect in higher living standards," Filote said. She explained that Romanians have not yet reaped the benefits they were expecting after the country's EU accession and the economic growth model the EU relied on in the first 50 years of its history is no longer viable. "If the European integration process in the first 50 years resulted in the reduction of gaps between member states and between the various social groups in the European Union, now, as we draw the line eight years after accession, we see that in Romania the gaps have not narrowed but have widened, both those separating various regions of the country and those between various social groups. Therefore, I think this is a good time to ask the question what can Romania offer the European Union, because a process of reflection on a new economic growth model has started, in the EU as well," said Filote.
As Romania moves closer to implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive, local employers are preparing for one of the most consequential shifts in workplace regulation in over a decade. The directive, set for transposition by June 2026, introduces strict new rules on salary disclosure, pay reporting, and equal-pay verification, aiming to close persistent gender gaps […]
A young Romanian has developed a new system that allows people to return entire bags of recyclable packaging at once, replacing the traditional method of inserting bottles one by one into reverse-vending machines. The concept, called IZI, was created by Ștefan Parascanu, who returned to Romania after studying and working in the United Kingdom. The […]
JTI, the global owner of both Winston and Camel, announced on Thursday, November 27, a plan to build a new, state-of-the-art factory in Ștefăneștii de Jos, Ilfov County. Designed to replace the current Bucharest production site, which is operating under space constraints, the facility is scheduled for completion in 2027. Ground works at the new […]
The City Hall of Oradea, in northwest Romania, has begun installing new smart parking meters as part of its ongoing modernization and digitalization of the municipal parking system. The first batch of devices has already been placed in central areas, and the entire system is expected to become operational by the end of the year. […]
Orange Romania announced the launch of the 5G+ technology in the Bucharest subway, becoming the first operator in the country to reach mobile data speeds of up to 1 Gbps in the underground network. The company has begun activating the technology in several stations and plans wider deployment in the coming weeks. The first 5G+ […]
PPC blue Romania, the electric mobility division of the PPC group, announced the expansion of its national charging infrastructure through the acquisition of the Hermes Flow network, adding 116 new charging points for electric vehicles. Most are located in the Bucharest-Ilfov region, with the rest in 10 other counties. Once fully integrated, users will have […]
