The black market of cigarettes reached 10.4% of the total of consumption, in May this year, up by 9.8% in March, shows a study made by the research company Novel.According to data released by JTI on Monday, this is the highest level of smuggling since January 2020. The survey reveals that cigarette smuggling in May 2024 saw the highest increase in the Northeast, up 5.2 percentage points to 26.5%, followed by the Southeast (+2.6 percentage points to 7.4%), In terms of the origin of black market products, Duty Free continues to account for the largest share (36.3%), followed by the Republic of Moldova (up 7.4 p.p. to 23.3%) and Bulgaria (22.1%, up 1.6 p.p.). At the same time, the information centralized on the stopcontrabanda.ro platform, from the beginning of the year to date, shows that the authorities have seized some 34 million smuggled cigarettes, 75% of which in the south of the country. Compared to other European countries, there is a clear correlation between accessibility and the black market, with the highest rates in Ireland at 24.4% and France at 32.4%, according to the published statistics. In terms of penalties, in the first five months of the year, the Romanian Border Police seized about 1.3 million packs of cigarettes worth over 30 million lei. "During the period under review, border guards seized 6,300 kg of loose tobacco and 52 kg of hookah tobacco," said the inspector general of the Border Police, Police Superintendent Cornel-Laurian Stoica. Tobacco companies, big taxpayers, pay more than 20 billion lei annually to the state budget in excise duties, VAT and other taxes and contributions.
The Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, held in the Czech Republic, is bringing to Bucharest a selection of four films from last year’s edition as part of the Echoes of Ji.hlava project. Between March 6 and April 3, lovers of documentary film are invited to the Czech Center to discover the Ji.hlava selection and take […]
A campaign organized by Romanian activist and war correspondent Radu Hossu gained increased traction and raised around EUR 85,000 in over two days for Ukraine’s military needs. The fundraiser started after the Trump administration paused military aid to Romania's neighboring country. Citizens of Moldova and Romania contributed the majority of the funds, according to Defense...
A new survey from Romanian employment platform BestJobs found notable differences among men and women employees, specifically the priority placed on salary and promotion opportunities for the first, and on job stability for the latter. According to the survey, women, who make up 48% of employees in Romania, say salary is an essential criterion in […]
The Republic of Moldova was among the countries where the United States “wasted” aid funds, according to president Donald Trump, who spoke before the Republican-dominated Congress. Trump claimed that government funds had been spent on useless programs in Moldova and Serbia, among other countries. These received assistance from the US through USAID, the agency that […]
US-headquartered Expro, a leading provider of energy services, announced that it had been awarded major contracts, either as a direct contractor or subcontractor to OMV Petrom, totaling more than USD 10 million for the Neptun Deep gas project in Romania’s Black Sea. The contracts involve Expro’s subsea landing string (SSLS), SeaCure cementing technology,...
The ROLANG Summer School provides immersive courses designed to accelerate fluency in Romanian for learners of all levels. The 12th edition of ROLANG Summer School on the Romanian language will be held from July 21st to August 1st, 2025, in Sibiu, in partnership with the German Cultural Center in Sibiu. Students will delve into the […]
