The number of residential building permits issued in Romania in the first five months of the year was 0.5 percent down from the year-ago period, shows data released on Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).As many as 14,050 residential building permits were released between January 1 - May 31, 2024, with lower numbers of such authorizations recorded in the following development regions: Center (-237 permits), North-West (-122) and South-East (-59).Conversely, the following development regions saw an increase in the number of permits in the reporting period as follows: West (+108), Bucharest-Ilfov (+76), South-Muntenia (+64), South-West Oltenia (+5).As many as 3,050 residential building permits were released in May 2024, by 528 (14.8 percent) fewer compared to April 2024, for a total usable floor area of 698,534 sqm (-19.2 pct). Of the total residential building permits, 68 percent were for the rural area.The distribution by development regions of the decline in the number of permits released this May is as follows: South-Muntenia (-116), North-East (-106), West and Bucharest-Ilfov (-83 each), North-West and Center (-80, each), and South-East (-4). Conversely, the Southwest Oltenia development region saw an increase by 24 permits.As many as 516 building permits were issued this May for non-residential buildings (-13.9 percent as against April 2024) for a total usable floor area of 260,154 sqm (-57.2 percent). Compared to the previous month, the usable floor area covered by the non-residential building permits issued in May was by 347,246 sqm smaller, with the decline distributed by development regions as follows: Bucharest-Ilfov (-279,645 sqm), North-East (-52,856 sqm), North-West (-39,980 sqm), South-West Oltenia (-15,868 sqm), and South-East (-3,650 sqm). Increases were registered in the West (+27,973 sqm), Center (+13,685 sqm) and South-Muntenia (+3,095 sqm) development regions.A year-on-year comparison reveals an overall decrease in both the number of residential building permits issued this May (-11.6 percent), and in the total usable floor area (-7.3 percent), with the following distribution by development regions: North-West (-106 permits), North-East (-104), West (-44), South-East (-39), Center (-37), Bucharest-Ilfov (-33), South-West Oltenia (-24), and South-Muntenia (-12).Compared to May 2023, in May 2024 there was a decrease in both the number of issued non-residential building permits (-20.1 percent), and the total usable floor area (-24.3 percent).The breakdown of the year-over-year decline in the usable floor area covered by non-residential building permits (-83,444 sqm) is as follows: South-Muntenia (-53,998 sqm), West (-38,919 sqm), Bucharest-Ilfov (-8,466 sqm), North-East (-5,359 sqm) and South-West Oltenia (-1,944 sqm). The development regions to record a rise in the non-residential usable floor area were Center (+17,829 sqm), South-East (+5,983 sqm), and North-West (+1,430 sqm).
TikTok has launched an Election Center dedicated to Romania's upcoming elections as part of its broader effort to protect "the integrity of the platform" and promote access to reliable information. The initiative is supported by a new media literacy campaign and ongoing collaboration with more than 20 fact-checking partners, the company said in a statement. […]
Romanian acting president Ilie Bolojan met on Friday, April 25, with a delegation from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, or ODIHR, of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), according to a statement from the presidential administration. The acting president told the delegation that Romania "is faithful to democratic principles […]
Shareholders of Romanian oil company OMV Petrom recently approved the distribution of record dividends amounting to RON 2.8 billion (EUR 562.6 million) for the 2024 financial year, as well as the 2025 budget, which provides for investments of RON 8.1 billion (EUR 1.6 billion). The decision was taken during the Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meetings […]
The 2025 edition of the European Film Festival (FFE), which takes place this year in Bucharest and nine other cities, will screen more than 40 feature films, 28 of which are national premieres. The festival will also present two selections of short films, also screened as national premieres. Among them are 11 documentaries, 13 films […]
Update: The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an official press release that the Romanian citizen was initially detained in the Abkhazia region four months ago and was later transferred to Sochi, Russia. "Steps have already been taken to provide consular protection and assistance with the central and local authorities, in accordance with international regulations," […]
Russia’s Federal Security Service, FSB, said on Friday, April 25, that it arrested a 23-year-old Romanian citizen on suspicion of spying for Ukraine by sharing the locations of Russian air defense systems. The unnamed man is accused of collecting and transmitting information about air defense sites in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi to […]
