5 April, 2016

Daimler builds Mercedes parts in Romania, Romania has record low unemployment

Newsroom, 05.04.2016, 11:59

LEAKS – Fiscal authorities in several countries have initiated investigations after the revelations related to the Mossack Fonseca Panama law firm document leaks. The leaks reveal that heads of state past and present, business people and famous athletes, as well as criminal organizations, got help to hide their wealth in tax havens. On the list are also close associates of President Putin, British PM Camerons father, Ukrainian president Poroshenko, and the PM of Iceland, who is being pressured to resign. Documents relating to Romania reveal over 100 names, mostly those of business people.

INVESTMENT – German corporation Daimler has invested 300 million Euro in the newest major greenfield initiative in Romania, in the town of Sebes, in Transylvania. The latest type of automobile gearboxes are set to be built there, destined for 20 models of Mercedes cars, sold in 200 countries. The initiative provides 500 jobs in Sebes, a city with 24,000 inhabitants, bringing unemployment there to below 2%.

EMPLOYMENT – Eurostat released data according to which the number of unemployed in Romania went below 600,000 in February. With an unemployment rate below 6.5%, Romania is one of the countries that still ranks below the average rate in the EU from this point of view. This year, the average unemployment rate in the EU finally got below 9%, the lowest in 7 years. The total number of people without jobs is over 21 million in the Union. Topping the list are still Greece and Spain, with 24% and 20% unemployment respectively.

PHYSICIANS – Family physicians in Romania resumed normal activity today, after they stopped issuing referrals and subsidized drug prescriptions, in protest against underfunding. They said that they would continue protests in various other forms in order to reach a settlement. They want to renegotiate their framework contract with the state, which had been postponed for three months, demanding double the funds allocated to primary healthcare, as well as legislative changes such as tax breaks and transparency in spending.

DEFENSE – Romanian Defense Minister Mihnea Motoc held talks today in Bucharest with Turkish Deputy Defense Minister Shuay Alpay regarding cooperation in the defense industry, enhanced by the agreement signed in May 2015. Romanian and Turkish defense industry companies signed a protocol to work together in modernizing the Romanian frigates King Ferdinand and Queen Marie, in order to upgrade their missile systems and sensors. Recently, three Turkish warships taking part in a naval exercise made a stopover for two days in the port of Constanta.

TAROM – Flights by Romanian airline Tarom to Brussels have resumed partially today after Zaventem airport reopened. According to the company, the airport in Brussels has enhanced security measures, allowing only passengers with a boarding pass in the check-in area. Air traffic resumed on Sunday, almost two weeks after the bloody attacks against the airport and the metro in Belgium, which left 32 dead. Zaventem has a yearly traffic amounting to over 23 million. Losses resulting from the airport closing down as a result of the attacks amounted to five million Euros daily.

POLO – Romanias national polo team played against France in Trieste, losing 11-12 the second group A game in the preliminaries of the Olympics. In the first game in the group, Romania had won against Slovakia 13-11. The national team is in the same group with Hungary, Canada, France, Russia and Slovakia, 13-11. After two games, Romania ranks 3rd, with 2 points. The first four teams in the two groups will qualify to the quarter finals. The semi-finalists will earn qualification to the Olympic games this summer, in Rio de Janeiro.