Social
Romania has lowest proportion of urban population in the EU
Romania has the lowest percentage of its population living in urban areas of all EU countries, according to recently published 2011 results from EU statistics department Eurostat. Just 11 percent of Romanians live in urban areas, less than Slovakia, with 12 percent and Hungary and Bulgaria, both with 17 percent. The report divides population into [...]
Road death toll: Fewer fatalities in Romania while number grows elsewhere in Europe
Romania had slightly fewer road deaths last year than in 2010, but is still among of the countries with the highest death tolls from road accidents in the EU, according to a recent report from the European Commission. Last year, the number of fatalities per million people was of 94 for Romania, down from 111 [...]
Tonny Lybek, IMF: Draft law for health reform in Romania, done by end-June
Romania will work on draft law for health reform by the end of June this year, as agreed between local authorities and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Romania allots insufficient funds for health, as a percentage of the GDP, compared to the average in the EU, according to Tonny Lybek, IMF representative for Romania and [...]
Romania comes first in EU on number of tuberculosis patients
The number of tuberculosis cases in Romania have been decreasing, but the country still comes first in the European Union. Over a quarter of the TB cases in the EU came from Romania in 2010, according to a recent report from the World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Poland, [...]
Foreign Ministry withdraws auxiliary embassy staff and urges Romanians to leave Syria
The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently decided to withdraw the auxiliary staff and the family members of Romania’s Embassy to Damascus. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to withdraw the auxiliary staff and family members of the Romanian Embassy in Damascus. Also, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs uses this opportunity to renew the recommendation [...]
Three Romanians get jail time in U.S. for internet scam
Three Romanians were given prison sentences by U.S. Judge, William S. Duffey, for an Internet-based fraud scheme to con money with phony advertisements for cars and merchandise, and then send the funds to co-conspirators in Romania, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia. Romanian Silviu Leoveanu, 32, was sentenced to 33 months in [...]
Romania’s ‘robbery of the century’ gang sentenced to 11 years in prison
The perpertrators of the ‘robbery of the century’ in Romania have recently been sentenced to 11 years in prison each, by the Bucharest Court, according to Mediafax newswire. Some eight years ago, Petru Nica, Gabriel Constantin Velescu and Aurelian Romulus Paven were accused of stealing money from the ABN Amro subsidiaries in Galati, Constanta and [...]
Romanian MP wants days off for employees on their birthdays
Romanians might get a free day from work on their birthday, should the Parliament agree with the proposal of an MP from the ruling Democratic Liberal Party (PDL). MP Marius Rogin will submit a project to change the Labor Code so that employees can have a day off on their birthdays. This will stop them [...]
Romania’s employment rise, among fastest in EU
Romania’s employment had a 1.5 percent growth in Q4 over Q4 2010, at par with Sweden, and falling behind Estonia, with 4.8 percent , Latvia, with 3.9 percent, Malta, 2.2 percent , Finland 1.6 percent. But Romania’s results were diametrically opposed to the overall EU trend, where rate of employment growth fell steadily. The rate of year-on-year employment rise across [...]
Romania to roll out e-prescription in June and national health card in August
Romanian doctors will use the electronic prescription from June this year, and Romanians will receive the national health card from August, which, it is claimed, will save the health system EUR 200 million, previously lost due to fraud. “By introducing the new electronic prescription and the national health card we hope to recover between EUR [...]
Three quarters of Romanians skip doctor visits when sick over cost fears
Around three quarters of Romanians gave up on seeing the doctor in 2010 due to the high costs involved, found a study issued by the Romanian Association of International Drug Producers (ARPIM). “The number should get the attention of authorities and raise questions. Especially as we’re talking about millions of Romanians who did not go [...]
Optimistic hiring trend in Romania: One in five employers will be hiring in the next three months
Romanian employers are maintaining their optimism over employment in the second quarter of this year and see growth in the number of staff over the next three months, despite the economic tensions in the region, according to a recent Manpower survey. One in five employers will be hiring in the next quarter, while around seven out [...]
Romanian ruling coalition agrees public sector pay rise from June this year
Romania’s ruling coalition recently decided to increase the salaries of public employees starting this June, according to Mircea Toader, Liberal Democrat Party’s (PDL) deputies leader, quoted by Mediafax newswire. The Government will have to scare up the extra funds needed for salary increases. Romanian President Traian Basescu said last week that Romania must find solutions [...]
Old age dependency ratio set to triple in Romania over next 50 years
Romania, and other new EU member states look to be particularly at risk of aging population over the next 50 years. The overall trend in Europe is towards a greater and greater percentage of population over 65, but a recent study by Eurostat shows big differences in the rate and size of change between EU [...]
Romania tops EU chart on poverty and social exclusion risks
Romania has one of the highest risks of population poverty and social exclusion in the EU, based on data recently released by Eurostat. Over 42 percent of the country’s women and almost 41 percent of its men are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, according to statistics. For women, this is the second highest [...]
Romanian women in management positions get 14% lower salaries than men, study shows
Women executives in Romania are paid 14 percent less than men, and the gender pay gap is similar throughout the Central and Eastern European region, found a recent study issued by Mercer. The highest difference in pay between women and men was recorded in Germany, where female executives make 22 percent less than their males [...]
Romanian gunman detained for 24 hours after killing two in Bucharest shooting
Gheorghe Vladan, the gunman who shot eight people at a hair dresser in Bucharest on Monday evening ( March 5 ), is in custody charged with murder and attempted murder. He will undergo a psychiatric evaluation today ( March 6 ). The gunman was previously accused of battery and other violence, but he was never [...]
Gunman shoots eight in downtown Bucharest hairdresser studio, kills two
A gunman shot eight people at a hair dresser in Bucharest on Monday evening (March 5), according to newswire Mediafax. One of the victims died immediately during the shooting at the hair dresser studio, located at the intersection between Dorobanti and Iancu de Hunedoara Blvd. in Bucharest (near the Perla restaurant). According to local media, [...]
Widening gender pay gap in Romania reflects work-life balance problem
Romanian women earned 13 percent less than Romanian men last year, a widening pay difference from below 10 percent in 2010, found a recent report on the gender pay gap issued by the European Commission. The figure, which places Romania among the higher pay gaps in the EU, is, however, below the EU average. Women [...]
Fewer unemployed in Romania while jobless rate goes up in the EU
Unemployment went slightly down in Romania, to 7.2 percent in January this year, from 7.5 in December last year, and below the average for the European Union, of 10.1 percent, according to data from Eurostat. Romania’s unemployment went up in the first part of 2011 only to decrease towards the end of the year, staying [...]
Weakness in Romanian justice system, long settlement terms bring higher arbitration cases values
The Romanian commercial arbitration market reported an increase of over 85 percent on the peak values arising in arbitration cases, in the last three years, according to Chiuariu & Asociatii law firm. The highest amount disputed in a case registered at The Court of International Commercial Arbitration attached to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry [...]
Romanian officials charged with illegally granting citizenship
Clerks from the National Citizenship Authority in Romania and Sector 1 City Hall in Bucharest are being investigated for having allegedly granted illegal citizenship. So far, three people have been detained for 24 hours in the case, after prosecutors searched 32 homes and investigated 36 people. Those detained have allegedly granted Romanian citizenship to citizens [...]
Romanian Parliament passes vote for draft law against domestic violence
The Romanian Parliament recently approved the draft amendment to combat domestic violence. The Chamber of Deputies gave 166 votes for, three votes against and two abstentions, after the draft had already been adopted by the Romanian Senate. The draft law needs to be signed by the President Traian Basescu and published in the Official Gazette before being [...]
Unicef: Roma still banished to the margins of Romanian society
After more than 20 years since the fall of communism and five years since EU accession, the plight of Romania’s Roma population remains woeful. Recent figures from the Roma Education Fund in Romania included in Unicef’s report ‘The State of the World’s Children 2012′ show huge discrepancies between one of Romania’s largest ethnic groups and [...]
One in 19 Romanians has a rare disease, most don’t get proper diagnosis
Over a million of Romania’s 19 million inhabitants have a rare disease, and three quarters of them are children. Most of the diseases are early onset genetic disorders, according to data from the National Alliance for Rare Diseases in Romania. Every day, at least one Romanian thought to have a rare disease gets admitted to [...]
Romania strikes gold, silver and bronze at European Gymnastics Championship, wins title after four years 
‘Magic mentalist’ wins ‘Romania’s got talent’ competition after flat-lining during live show 
Three trams collide, derail in Bucharest accident, at least 86 injured 
‘The Avengers’ epic movie almost covers production costs with first week-end box office revenues 
Athletic Bilbao files official complaint over Bucharest airport delays after Europa League final 
Wajiha Haris, Scheherazade Foundation president: “No” is never an option 
Romania’s Education Minister accused of having plagiarized three international research papers 
German STEAG buys wind farm from Romanian Monsson, plans EUR 200 mln investments 
Romanian actor Serban Ionescu left bed bound after catching Lyme’s disease from tick bite 
S Immo to put EUR 66 mln into The Mark – Bucharest office building with intelligent facade
