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 latest feature film by Romanian director Tudor Giurgiu, 3 Days in September (3 zile în septembrie), has been selected for the Limelight section of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), one of the world’s leading film festivals. IFFR, with an average audience of around 275,000 viewers, alongside more than 2,000 film industry professionals from […]
Romania’s interior minister, Cătălin Predoiu, and the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel, decided on Tuesday, December 16, to establish a Task Force aimed at stimulating the exchange of information and data. The exchange is aimed at improving the fight against organized crime, illegal migration, cyber threats, and illegal activities carried […]
Around 40% of Romanians living abroad want to invest in Romania, according to a new survey conducted by RePatriot, highlighting a significant potential for economic development driven by the diaspora. The research, carried out in October–November 2025 among Romanians from more than 20 countries, showed that interest in investing in the home country remains high […]
Romania’s acting minister of defence, Radu Miruță, has asked Parliament to grant prior approval for the signing of a framework agreement with Lockheed Martin for the training of F-16 flight personnel at the European F-16 Training Center (EFTC) hosted in Romania,
Former Social Democrat (PSD) transport minister Răzvan Cuc was detained by prosecutors from the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) on suspicion of complicity in bribery, the DNA announced on Tuesday, December 16. Cuc, a member of the Social Democratic Party who served as minister of transport in the governments led by Sorin Grindeanu (currently the leader […]
Regions across Romania will receive a financing boost as a result of a EUR 25 million loan that CEC Bank is receiving from the European Investment Bank (EIB). CEC Bank will channel the EIB credit into public-sector projects that promote sustainable economic development, particularly in Romanian regions where the shift to a greener industry is […]
