The Government is set to freeze, for the moment, the minimum wage at 1,050 lei (approximately 235 euro), even though the former cabinet promised to increase the wage to 1,200 lei (approximately 270 euro) from January 1, 2016."We will analyze the impact an increase in the minimum wage would have and, eventually, we will recommend increases that can take place. From January 1 it will not increase, because we cannot make this estimation on the economy and we would say for naught that we want to stimulate the economy with such a generous fiscal package that we made a great effort to include in the budget if we were to take a measure that could destroy the business environment. We cannot make this increase overnight, because this measure can significantly affect the competitiveness of Romania", said, on Friday, the Minister of Public Finance, Anca Dragu. She mentioned that the analysis regarding the impact is underway, but that the measure must be analyzed especially in the private area, because the public sector yields no wages under the minimum wage, given the increases approved this year for various categories, such as workers in healthcare, education and local administration, but also the 10 percent increase for all public sector workers decided upon recently. Furthermore, the Minister claims that such a measure can determine a migration of personnel from the fiscalized white area to the gray or black area of the economy. The Ponta Government had scheduled in its governing programme the increase of the minimum wage to 1,200 lei from January 1, 2016, and the former PM had promised additional increases to 1,300 lei until the midpoint of 2016 and 1400 lei from January 1, 2017.
Thousands of Romanians gathered in cities across the country and in major European capitals on Saturday, March 15, in a show of support for Romania's place in the European Union. The Euro Manifest rally took place in Bucharest, Timișoara, Arad, Oradea, Iași, and in the diaspora, including Brussels, London, and Dublin. Organizers estimated that between […]
The 2025 edition of the year’s first major film fest in Europe (and one of the biggest worldwide), the Berlin International Film Festival, took place between 13 and 23 February. My notes come with a bit of delay, as I was also hit by the festival flu that got so many of us sniffling and […]
In the absence of current negative influences, Romania’s economy could have an annual growth potential of 3-4%. Political instability and global geopolitical risks are dampening growth. Economic growth in 2024 was driven by wage increases and accelerating consumption, satisfied however largely through imports. Due to a decline in domestic economic competitiveness, net exports contributed negatively […]
The Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) announced on Thursday, March 13, the launch of a new financial education section on the BVB Research Hub platform, dedicated to retail investors. The capital market operator said that it started this project out of the need to increase the level of financial education and promote the investment culture. It […]
The Romanian governing coalition's presidential candidate, Crin Antonescu, announced on Thursday, March 13, that he is launching a podcast designed to popularize his candidacy before the May elections. Antonescu, who is backed by the alliance made up of the Liberals (PNL), Social Democrats (PSD), the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians (UDMR), and the minorities, stated that he will […]
Some 4,500 teachers will learn about rights and responsibilities online, accessibility, inclusion, online well-being, and ethics as part of Incubatorul Civic Digital (ICD - The Civic Digital Incubator), a digital citizenship and democratic culture project implemented by Institutul Intercultural Timișoara, Asociația TechSoup and Școala de Valori. The project, which offers free training, is aimed at […]
