Romania News Watch

Romanian street sign warns drivers of 'drunk pedestrians'

2010-03-10T01:16:00.000-05:00

Street signs warning Romanian drivers to be careful of drunken pedestrians lying on roads were erected by road safety chiefs worried about the "despairing" levels of accidents.

By Andrew Hough
www.telegraph.co.uk

Officials in Pecica, a village town about 13 miles from the Hungarian border in the country’s west, ordered the bright red signs, complete with the phrase “Attention - Drunks”.

The 10 road signs, which also show a person crawling on their knees while clutching a glass in one hand, were erected in popular nightspot areas close to the city's bars and restaurants.

Peter Antal, the Pecica Mayor, said the idea came after he visited an unnamed town in Germany, which had installed similar signs.

He said officials took action after a “despairing” number of accidents in the town, which has a population of about 13,000, caused by drunken revellers, with some even resulting in fatalities.

He said it was not motorists’ fault but blamed the town’s pedestrians, many of whom were not able to look out for themselves as they walked around the town, which is more than 300 miles west of the Romanian capital Bucharest.

"We are a border town and have lots of cars thundering through here all the time," he told local media.

"But we also have a very vibrant nightlife and the two don't mix.

“We have to target the drivers because by the time they get to this state, the pedestrians are beyond caring.”

He added: “In recent years… some traffic accidents (have) resulted, in some cases, even with deceased (people).

“We have thought about different options (on how) we can stop this and we decided that first step was to mount these signs.

“We must warn drivers that sometimes people who have little control over their actions can suddenly appear in the road.”

He denied the signs would send out the wrong message to the town’s residents, claiming they were a “positive contribution”.

Residents said they found the signs amusing.

Prosecutors seek Romanian senator's arrest

2010-03-10T01:11:00.002-05:00

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Prosecutors are requesting an arrest warrant be issued for a Romanian senator on suspicion of taking bribes from businessmen to influence court cases.

The anti-corruption prosecutors' office asked Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu on Tuesday to request that parliament allow for the arrest of lawmaker Catalin Voicu of the opposition Social Democratic Party.

Prosecutors say Voicu received bribes worth about 260,000 euros ($355,000) from July to September from an unidentified businessman allegedly to pay judges for a favorable outcome in a court case. Prosecutors also say Voicu received a bribe in August from another businessman allegedly to bribe justice officials. Voicu denies the allegations.

Romanian NGOs alert EU to 'violations' of protected areas

2010-03-10T01:10:00.002-05:00

(AFP)
BUCHAREST — Three Romanian environmental organisations filed complaints to the European Commission targetting several "violations" of protected areas in Romania, they said Tuesday.

"We are here to send a very strong message to those assaulting the environment in an irrecoverable way, and to authorities whom, by their passivity, are accomplices", said Gabriel Paun, chairman of Agent Green NGO, in a press conference.

His association, a WWF partner, together with the NGOs Milvus and the Society of Carpatians in Ardeal, alerted Brussels to nine cases, concerning environmental alterations done without authorisation or proper impact study, according to them.

They criticised the construction of a national road to cross two national parks, Retezat and Domogled-Valea Cernei, in a south-western area home to one of the last "intact forest landscape" in Europe, according to Paun.

Another complaint targets the location of a windfarm in a south-eastern area through which 10,000 predatory birds and 20,000 storks pass each autumn, according to Tamas Papp, who heads Milvus.

"Investors, with a few exceptions, don't consider environmental protection laws as an obligation which they have to follow, but they see them as obstacles they need to avoid, by using more or less legal solutions", Paun said.

Contacted by AFP, the Romanian National agency for environment protection declined to make immediate comment on the issue, but said that it was preparing a press conference to address the subject.

Romania’s Rating Outlook Raised to Stable at Standard & Poor’s

2010-03-10T01:09:00.002-05:00

By Tasneem Brogger

March 10 (Bloomberg) -- Romania’s credit rating outlook was raised to stable at Standard & Poor’s after the government showed its commitment to fulfilling the budgetary terms of an international bailout.

The outlook on Romania’s BB+ credit rating was raised from negative, the ratings company said in a statement late yesterday.

“The outlook revision reflects our view of Romania’s sustained budgetary reform program and our belief that the government is likely to continue to comply with the International Monetary Fund and European Union standby agreement, thereby easing external financial pressures,” Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Marko Mrsnik said in the statement.

The economy of the European Union’s second poorest member is relying on a 20 billion euro ($27 billion) IMF-led bailout to finance its budget and current account deficits after the global credit crisis undermined its exports and investments. Parliament was turned its attention to passing a budget after President Traian Basescu appointed a government late last year, unfreezing the IMF loan and restoring international investor confidence.

Economic output contracted about 7.1 percent last year and may “recover slightly in 2010, thanks mainly to the recovery we anticipate in external demand,” the rating service said. Domestic demand “is likely to remain subdued,” S&P said.

The government wants to reduce the budget deficit to 6.4 percent of gross domestic product this year from 7.8 percent in 2009, a target it can reach if planned wage and pension reforms are pushed through, S&P said.

Romania Inflation Rate Fell as Leu Strengthened, Survey Shows

2010-03-09T04:30:00.002-05:00

By Adam Brown

March 9 (Bloomberg) -- Romania’s inflation rate probably fell in February as a stronger currency pushed down prices of imports and other items sold in euros, according to a survey.

The annual inflation rate fell to 4.7 percent in February from 5.2 percent in January, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of nine analysts. The monthly rate probably fell to 0.3 percent from 1.7 percent, it showed. The statistics office publishes inflation data tomorrow at 10 a.m. in Bucharest.

“The stronger leu probably helped slow inflation last month,” Vlad Muscalu, a Bucharest-based analyst at ING Bank Romania, said in a telephone interview today. “We will probably see lower inflation rates for the next few months.”

Romania’s leu has strengthened 3.4 percent against the euro this year, reducing prices of imports and items such as telephone bills, rent and gasoline.

Inflation accelerated from October of last year through January as tobacco and alcohol producers raised prices in anticipation of a new tax that took effect on Jan. 1. Tobacco accounts for 4.6 percent of the basket of goods in the consumer price index.

The Banca Nationala a Romaniei raised its year-end annual inflation forecast last month to 3.6 percent from 2.6 percent and cut its main interest rate to 7 percent from 7.5 percent to spur economic growth. The bank next meets to decide on its interest rate on March 29.

--With assistance from Zoya Shilova in Moscow. Editor: Tasneem Brogger.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Brown in Bucharest at abrown23@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Kirkham at ckirkham@bloomberg.net

Romania Feb unemployment rises to 8.3 percent

2010-03-09T02:11:00.000-05:00

BUCHAREST, March 8 (Reuters) - Romania's unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent in February from January's 8.1 percent, the employment agency said on Monday.

Falling demand from the euro zone, Romania's main trading partner, has hurt central and eastern European economies, forcing many companies in the state-controlled and private sectors to cut output and lay off personnel.

Bucharest needs to make deep spending cuts to curb the emerging economy's large imbalances, since the country secured 20 billion euros in aid from international lenders in 2009 to lift its economy out of recession.

Among these, it plans to cut up to 100,000 jobs to streamline a bloated public administration in 2010.
FEB 10 JAN 10 FEB 09

Number of unemployed 762,375 740,982 477,860
Jobless rate 8.3 8.1 5.3

Romanian yields fall at 6-mth T-bill tender

2010-03-09T02:10:00.002-05:00

BUCHAREST, March 8 (Reuters) - Romania sold 1.33 billion lei ($445.6 million) in six-month treasury bills on Monday, with the average accepted yield falling to 6.73 percent as expected, against 7.33 at a Feb. 15 tender, central bank data showed.

The issue was heavily oversubscribed with bids totalling 4.1 billion lei. The finance ministry had planned to sell 1 billion lei.

Yields have plunged from as much as 9.5 percent at the start of the year, helped by the International Monetary Fund's decision to free up 3.3 billion euros in international aid for the struggling emerging economy by the quarter's end.

Analysts expect a further fall in yields in the coming weeks, although most predict a correction later this year.

"The fall in yields is not a surprise. We see greater liquidity in the market, triggered by inflows from the IMF-led aid deal," said Vlad Muscalu, economist at ING Bank in Bucharest.

"We are optimistic in the short term ... but we foresee a possible correction (rise in yields) somewhere in the second half of the year."

So far this year, Romania has sold 10.3 billion lei of debt. The ministry had said it planned to sell 10-12 billion lei in the first quarter, as well as issue a Eurobond of around 1 billion euros.

Other say the auction results also reflect banks' appetite given lack of opportunities in the recession-hit economy:

"We're also talking about banks' appetite because of lack of opportunities in the real economy," said Ionut Dumitru of Raiffeisen Bank in Bucharest.

Romanian president visits Afghanistan

2010-03-05T05:53:00.002-05:00

BUCHAREST, Romania, March 4 (UPI) -- Romanian President Traian Basescu and two defense officials made a surprise visit toAfghanistan Thursday to visit Romanian NATO troops.

Basescu was accompanied by his nation's defense minister and a senior general, the Mediafax news agency in Bucharest said. They arrived from a two-day state visit to Kazakhstan and met with two senior NATO officials in Kandahar for a 20-minute briefing before setting off to visit the Romanian soldiers.

The trip was not announced in advance due to security reasons, the report said.

There are 1,020 Romanian soldiers taking part in the NATO mission to oust Taliban and al-Qaida insurgents and 600 more are being trained to deploy in Afghanistan, Mediafax said.

Since joining the mission in 1998, 12 Romanian soldiers have died in Afghanistan.

Romanian president asks for more U.S. military vehicles for troops in Afghanistan

2010-03-05T05:52:00.002-05:00

Romanian President Traian Basescu Thursday asked the American side to supplement military vehicles for Romanian troops in Afghanistan, during his surprise visit in Kandahar.

According to an official press release of the Presidential Administration, Basescu made the request in his talking with General Stanley McCristal, commander of the NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Basescu asked the U.S. to supplement the number of military vehicles issued to the Romanian troops, given an increase in 2010 in the number of Romanian troops deployed to the theatre of operations in Afghanistan

The president had made a surprise visit Thursday morning to the Romanian troops in Kandahar, coming from Astana, Kazakhstan, where he paid a two-day state visit.

On his visit to Kandahar, Basescu decorated with the "Military Virtue" Order in rank of Knight the war flag of the 33rd Posada Mountaineering Battalion deployed there.

Currently, there are 1,020 Romanian troops in Afghanistan and the Bucharest authorities decided late January to send 600 more soldiers there.

Romania began to send troops to Afghanistan in July 2002. The action was the country's first military mission abroad after the Second World War.

Source: Xinhua

AP: Romanian mayor arrested over alleged corruption

2010-03-04T01:43:00.002-05:00

Anti-corruption prosecutors say the mayor of the southern Romanian city of Craiova has been arrested over corruption accusations.

Judges ruled Wednesday that Antonie Solomon can be held in custody for 29 days while authorities investigate allegations that he took bribes and falsified documents.

The Craiova city hall press office says prosecutors have requested documents referring to the building permit for a supermarket and to city hall's giving a stadium for free to football club Universitatea Craiova.

Solomon's lawyers declined to comment.

Solomon was elected the city's mayor in 2004 as a member of the ruling Democratic Liberal Party.

Romania to Cut Main Interest Rate ‘Prudently,’ Croitoru Says

2010-03-03T09:08:00.000-05:00

By Adam Brown and Irina Savu

March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Romania’s central bank, which has cut its main interest rate by one percentage point to 7 percent this year, will reduce the European Union’s highest benchmark “prudently,” a central bank adviser said.

“The rate reduction trend will continue but not in big steps,” Lucian Croitoru, a monetary policy adviser at the Banca Nationala a Romaniei told The Money Channel today. “I think it will disappoint those who are pressuring the central bank to cut in big steps. It will happen prudently.”

Romania’s central bank held off cutting its main interest rate in the last three months of 2009 while other regional banks cut theirs as the government collapsed and the International Monetary Fund froze payments from a bailout loan, leading to the lei weakening against the euro.

The 7 percent rate compares with 1 percent in the euro area and the Czech Republic and 3.5 percent in Poland. Neighboring Hungary, where currency weakness held up rate cuts for five months in 2009, last month cut its benchmark to a record low 5.75 percent.

Policy makers in Bucharest cut the main rate half a percentage point last month, following a half-point cut in January. The IMF resumed the bailout in February, easing pressure on the currency. The central bank will next meet to discuss interest rates on March 29.

The leu traded at 4.1056 per euro at 12:23 p.m. in Bucharest, from 4.1049 yesterday. The currency has gained 3.4 percent in the past six months.

The 20 billion-euro ($27 million) loan, which includes contributions from the European Union and other lenders, was frozen last November. It was renewed in February after the country formed a new government and passed a 2010 budget.

Analysts including Neil Shearing at London-based Capital Economics and Nicolaie Alexandru Chidesciuc at ING Bank Romania predict the main interest rate will fall to 6 percent as the central bank seeks to stimulate economic growth.

Romania’s gross domestic product shrank an annual 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, more than forecast by economists, as construction and industry shrank.

Croitoru predicted the economy will exit recession in the second half of this year when “domestic demand, which has the largest weight in GDP, picks up.”

--Editors: Balazs Penz, Chris Kirkham.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Brown in Bucharest at abrown23@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Kirkham at ckirkham@Bloomberg.net

Romanian GDP Contraction Slowed in Fourth Quarter

2010-03-03T06:25:00.002-05:00

By Adam Brown and Irina Savu

March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Romania’s economic decline slowed last quarter as growing demand in western Europe boosted industrial output and exports while the drop in consumption eased.

Gross domestic product fell 6.5 percent from a year earlier after a 7.1 percent decline in the previous three months, the National Statistics Institute in Bucharest said in an e-mail today. The figure was revised from the 6.6 percent contraction the institute estimated last month for the fourth quarter.

“The data reveal an improvement in private consumption and this is very good news,” Nicolaie Alexandre-Chidesciuc, chief economist at ING Bank Romania, said in an e-mail today. “At the same time, the data show the need for further key interest rate cuts to support the fragile recovery.”

Romania suffered its worst recession in at least 20 years in 2009 as booms in construction and commerce collapsed. The recession wiped out gains made in 2008 when the economy grew 7.1 percent, the fastest pace in the European Union, which the country joined in 2007. Shrinking government revenue and pressure on the leu forced the government to turn last April to international lenders for a bailout package.

Rate Cuts

The leu was little changed at 4.1044 per euro as of 10:37 a.m. in Bucharest trading, after the data. The Bucharest Stock Exchange benchmark BET index fell 0.7 percent to 5417.80. The currency has advanced 3 percent this year, the second-biggest gain in eastern Europe, after losing 5 percent last year against the euro, while the BET index gained 57 percent in 2009.

The Banca Nationala a Romaniei has so far cut its main interest rate by a full percentage point this year to 7 percent, to help stimulate growth. It next meets on March 29 to discuss further changes.

“The rate reduction trend will continue, but not in big steps,” Lucian Croitoru, a central bank monetary-policy adviser, said in an interview with The Money Channel television today. He also predicted Romania will exit the recession in the second half when “domestic demand, which has the largest weight in GDP, picks up.”

Fragile Recovery

East European economies have been emerging from recessions in recent quarters although slower-than-expected recoveries, such as the improvement in Romania’s $163 billion economy, indicate the process may be fragile.

The fourth-quarter contraction figure, though improved from the institute’s first estimate, was still worse than the 6 percent contraction estimated in a February survey of nine economists by Bloomberg.

The Czech Republic’s economic slump deepened on an annual basis in the fourth quarter to a contraction of 4.2 percent after declining 4.1 percent in the third. Hungary’s economy contracted an annual 4 percent. Poland’s economy, the largest in east Europe, grew an annual 3.1 percent in the fourth quarter, driven by exports.

The International Monetary Fund, which is leading the 20 billion-euro ($27.3 billion) bailout package for Romania, predicts the recession will end as early as this quarter and the economy will grow 1.3 percent in the full year after contracting 7.1 percent in 2009. On the quarter, output fell 1.5 percent, the institute said.

Industrial output and exports helped slow the contraction at the end of last year. Industry expanded an annual 4 percent in the quarter, the first growth since 2008, while agriculture, which accounts for about a third of output, grew 0.7 percent. Exports rose 2.9 percent and the decline in consumption slowed to 4 percent from 9.2 percent in the second quarter.

Construction led the yearly contraction in the fourth quarter, dropping 15.9 percent, followed by a drop of 12.5 percent on year in commerce.

--With assistance from Zoya Shilova in Moscow. Editors: Alan Crosby, Douglas Lytle

To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Brown in Bucharest at abrown23@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Kirkham at ckirkham@Bloomberg.net

Romania Revives Eurobond, Seeks Further Sale in 2010

2010-03-03T01:35:00.002-05:00

By Irina Savu, Caroline Hyde and Piotr Skolimowski

March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Romania revived its planned sale of Eurobonds postponed in November when the government collapsed and said it may return for additional borrowing later this year.

Romania is likely to sell about 1 billion euros ($1.35 billion) of bonds denominated in euros and may sell more securities before yearend, Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu said in response to questions from Bloomberg on the sidelines of a conference in Bucharest today. Deutsche Bank AG, EFG Eurobank and HSBC Holdings Plc are arranging investor meetings starting March 8, he said.

“We are going on a road show next week to major cities: London, Frankfurt and somewhere in Switzerland, Zurich or Geneva,” Vladescu said.

Romania is seeking to take advantage of improved investor confidence since Prime Minister Emil Boc put together a Cabinet on Dec. 23 and lawmakers on Jan. 14 approved a plan to narrow the 2010 budget deficit to 5.9 percent ofgross domestic product from 7.2 percent last year. The International Monetary Fund, which suspended a 20 billion-euro bailout package as the government collapsed amid infighting, resumed payments last month, releasing the equivalent of 2.4 billion euros.

Bondholders returning to Romania have driven down the extra yield on government notes due 2018 to 278 basis points above similar-maturity German bunds, from as high as 374 basis points in December and 959 basis points at the beginning of 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Bucharest BET Index of stocks has rallied 16 percent this year, beating a 3 percent decline for the benchmark MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

Fitch Ratings raised its outlook on Romania’s BB+ credit ranking to “stable” from “negative” on Feb. 3. Standard & Poor’s said in January it may raise Romania’s outlook after the resumption of the IMF agreement. The European Union’s second- poorest member is rated BB+ at S&P, the highest non-investment grade ranking, with a negative outlook. Moody’s Investors Service is the only ratings company that has Romania at investment grade, at Baa3.

The IMF, which demanded the formation of a new government and passage of the budget law before resuming payments, said last month the government will sell the bonds after the resumption of its loan payments.

Vladescu said on Feb. 8 the government will sell the bonds in March.

To contact the reporter on this story: Irina Savu in Bucharest atisavu@bloomberg.net or Piotr Skolimowski in Warsaw atpskolimowski@bloomberg.net or Caroline Hyde at chyde3@bloomberg.net

Economic crisis silences Romania rock festival

2010-03-03T01:34:00.002-05:00

BUCHAREST (AFP) – Organisers on Tuesday cancelled this year's B'estFest, traditionally one of Eastern Europe's biggest rock festivals, blaming the economic crisis.

Santana, The Killers, Patrice, Moby, Motorhead, Ayo, Orbital, Franz Ferdinand and Gabriela Cilmi were among stars at last year's festival which has taken place for the last three years in the Romanian capital, Bucharest.

"Because of the recession still affecting many branches of global economy, B'estFest's organisers, Emagic, has made the decision to postpone this year's edition", the group said in a statement.

"An event of this size has enormous costs, which cannot be supported exclusively by ticket selling, on this market affected by cuts in the marketing and advertising budgets", Laura Coroianu, Emagic CEO, said in the statement.

Coroianu said it would not be possible to have more than 30 artists performing on several stages for at least three days.

Since it was launched in 2007, the festival has drawn more than 150,000 Romanian and foreign fans.

The British band Faithless, which was part of the original line-up for B'estFest 2010, will still perform on July 16, Emagic said.

A curse, to be Romanian

2010-03-03T01:09:00.002-05:00

For German speaking readers....by Carmen-Francesca Banciu
EIn Fluch, rumänisch zu sein DIE WELT 16012010

Romania Can't Stomach Junk Food Tax

2010-03-02T08:40:00.002-05:00

Text by Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times*

1 March 2010 | The latest proposal by the Romanian government to increase state revenue is a tax on fast food, amid growing consumption of it.

State Secretary for Health Dr Streinu-Cercel initiated the idea late last year, purportedly as a way to steer Romanians away from junk food and improve nutrition. An estimated 25 per cent of Romania's 22 million people are said to be overweight, a trend mirroring the rise of fast food in the country.

The subsequent draft law submitted for public debate stated the intent, "to discourage the consumption of food rich in salt, sugar, fats and additives".

Food producer associations have warned that implementing the law -- scheduled for this spring -- will hike fast food prices by at least 20 per cent, and could lead to layoffs of nearly 36,000 employees, about one-fifth of all food workers.

The health ministry however, rejected the food lobby's figures as unfounded and said the tax -- which will also apply to soft drinks -- will bring 1 billion euros to the state budget, part of which will be applied to public health programmes.

In debating the tax, bloggers said the government is hiding behind health concerns to shield a blatant move to take people's money.

Acsel said it was predictable. "Fortunately or unfortunately, Romanians enjoy eating junk food. When they heard about the fast food tax, they were all up in arms," he says. But the government realised that "many citizens stuff themselves with fast food, so it just looked for a good reason -- obesity in this case -- to levy the tax and the rest will follow."

Octavian Ungureanu reacted with sarcasm. "Next is the scratching or sneezing tax ... but as long as they don't apply the folly tax, we are safe," he said.

Said Cristian Margarit -- "Instead of collecting more money, for instance from tax evaders, they place additional financial burden on the ordinary citizen. Because the junk food consumer is generally a low-income poorly-educated man, so the food of the poor is likened to a vice."

Clau P speaks for those who are concerned about the law's potential negative economic effects. "If this stupid draft law comes into force, there will definitely be food producers who will go bankrupt." She questions the government's intentions, given that junk food is not the sole cause of the obesity problem in Romania. "The overweight problem is not entirely due to donuts, chips and juice, but also to lack of physical training."

Journalist Victor Ciutacu sees a deeper political meaning in the draft law. "This proposal to tax soft drinks, hamburgers and sweets ... is nothing else but a delicate invitation to the big producers and importers to come to private negotiations," he says.

According to Ciutacu, there are only two outcomes: "If the informal talks are successful, the population will be joyfully informed their complaints have been listened to and their justified revolt is understood. If not, our children will eat and drink more expensively, but not necessarily more healthy."

And there are supporters. Andrei Babcinetchi explains that taxing vice is a normal practice in many countries. "The new tax is a summons for people to choose between good and bad -- healthy and unhealthy food. By consuming fast food, I myself assume a risk and I pay for this risk," he explains. "The only problem is where the collected money ends up. It is important it goes to a fund that only the ministry of health has access to."

Romania Eases Entrance For Moldovans On Border

2010-03-02T08:38:00.000-05:00

www.rferl.org

CHISINAU -- Dozens of Moldovans from towns and villages on the Romanian border lined up at the Romanian Embassy in Chisinau to apply for border-traffic passes that allow visa-free entry into the neighboring EU country, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports.

The embassy began accepting applications for the certificates on March 1 -- the first day that the EU Border Traffic Convention between Romania and Moldova went into force.

The agreement allows visa-free border crossing in both directions for people with the certificates. But their movement is restricted to 50 kilometers from the border.

Moldovan authorities estimate that up to 1.2 million Moldovans -- those living within 50 kilometers of the Romanian border -- are eligible to apply for the certificates.

Romania imposed visas for Moldovan citizens after Bucharest joined the European Union in 2007. At the same time, Romanian authorities encouraged Moldovans to apply for Romanian citizenship.

Romanian President Traian Basescu estimated that about 1 million Moldovans applied for Romanian citizenship in 2007. Several hundred thousand Romanian passports are estimated to have been issued to Moldovans between 1991 -- when it gained independence -- and 2006.

Romanian Producer-Price Growth Slows on Western Export Demand

2010-03-02T08:37:00.002-05:00

By Adam Brown and Irina Savu

March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Romanian producer-price growth, an early indicator of inflation trends, slowed in January as a slow recovery in western Europe reduced demand for textiles, furniture, cars and other exports.

The cost of goods leaving mines and factories increased an annual 3.3 percent after rising 4.2 percent in December, the Bucharest-based National Statistics Institute said in an e-mail today. Prices advanced 1 percent on the month.

Producer prices of manufactured goods rose an annual 3.1 percent in January, compared with a gain of 4.4 percent in December, while prices of mined goods fell 1 percent, compared with a drop of 0.3 percent, the institute said.

East Europe’s recovery faltered in the fourth quarter, slowing gains in producer prices, as economic growth in Germany, a key investor and buyer of the region’s goods, unexpectedly stalled.

The Romanian inflation rate in January was 5.2 percent, because of an increase in tobacco taxes, the institute said last month.

Art world swoons over Romania's homeless genius

2010-03-01T01:39:00.000-05:00

63-year-old former tramp celebrated for collages made during Ceausescu regime

Lizzy Davies in Paris
guardian.co.uk
Friday 26 February 2010

The guests were chic, the bordeaux was sipped with elegant restraint and the hostess was suitably glamorous in a canary yellow cocktail dress. To an outside observer who made it past the soirée privée sign on the door of the Anne de Villepoix gallery on Thursday night, it would have seemed the quintessential Parisian art viewing.

Yet that would been leaving one crucial factor out of the equation: the man whose creations the crowd had come to see. In his black cowboy hat and pressed white collar, Ion Barladeanu looked every inch the established artist as he showed guests around the exhibition. But until 2007 no one had ever seen his work, and until mid-2008 he was living in the rubbish tip of a Bucharest tower block.

Today, in the culmination of a dream for a Romanian who grew up adoring Gallic film stars and treasures a miniature Eiffel Tower he once found in a bin, Barladeanu will see his first French exhibition open to the general public.

Dozens of collages he created from scraps of discarded magazines during and after the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu are on sale for more than €1,000 (£895) each. They are being hailed as politically brave and culturally irreverent.

For the 63-year-old artist, the journey from the streets of Bucharest to the galleries of Europe has finally granted him recognition. "I feel as if I have been born again," he said, as some of France's leading collectors and curators jostled for position to see his collages. "Now I feel like a prince. A pauper can become a prince. But he can go back to being a pauper too."

That Barladeanu should remain stoical in the face of his sudden stardom is perhaps unsurprising. In 1989, he was one of many Romanians whose delight at Ceausescu's fall turned to frustration when work dried up. For the next 20 years, he lived on a mattress amid sacks of rubbish in the garbage room of a block of flats, earning money from odd jobs and making collages in secret.

"This was a man living on the border of society and still retaining a sense of self," said Alexander Nanau, a Bucharest-based director who has filmed a documentary on Barledeanu for HBO Central Europe. "He was lazy in a good way because that was the only way he could make his art – by hiding from a society he didn't want to get involved with."

Eventually, in 2007, Barladeanu showed his collages to an artist who happened to also be combing through the garbage. Amazed, the artist called a gallery owner. From that moment on, Barladeanu's days in the dump were numbered. "I instantly thought it was something very important, at least for Romania," said Dan Popescu, whose H'Art gallery specialises in young, little-known contemporary artists. With badly decaying teeth and a face ravaged by over 60 Romanian winters, Barledeanu was not young, and his anonymity would not last long.

Within six months, he was given his first exhibition, a flat of his own and a brand new set of dentures. In 2009, he made his first trip overseas and showed some collages at the Basel art fair. This week, he jetted into Paris, saw the Eiffel Tower for real and had lunch with the actor and fan Angelina Jolie, in town for her next movie.

Barledeanu describes himself as a "director" of his own films and considers each collage to be a movie in itself. While many are light-hearted, others are darker, infused with black humour and often focusing on the man he calls his "greatest fear". "I knew that if he knew about my work Ceausescu would not sleep in peace in his grave," he said. "If people had found out about my work they could have chopped my head off … But this is my revenge."

Many of the most explosive collages were made after 1989, but those that were made during the regime have already interested collectors. Antoine de Galbert of La Maison Rouge art foundation said he appreciated "the risk involved" in Barledeanu's work, while Jérôme Neutres of the Grand Palais said the artist's background lent the collages a unique appeal. "Of course there is a fairytale aspect to his work, but that is not important to me. What I like is that he has been spared the usual artistic circles and his work is refreshing as a result," he said.

Whatever the world thinks, Barladeanu says he will carry on working regardless. "It's like eating pie or sandwiches. It fulfils me," he said in his fast-paced Romanian slang. "If I were reincarnated in another life I would still be making collages, and if I could take them to the moon I would."

• This article was amended on Saturday 27 February to add reference to Alexander Nanau and HBO.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2010

AP: Ex-Romania FM quits party, saying he was spied on

2010-02-26T04:18:00.002-05:00

A former foreign minister has left the Social Democratic Party days after quitting a party leadership contest, alleging his colleagues spied on him in a blackmail attempt.

Cristian Diaconescu left the party late Wednesday and aligned himself with a group of lawmakers who support President Traian Basescu.

Diaconescu demanded that authorities investigate the alleged spying. He said it took before last weekend's party leadership elections. Diaconescu withdrew before the vote.

Diaconescu was Romania's foreign minister in 2009. He also served briefly as justice minister in 2004.

U.S. soldier part of nations' task force

2010-02-26T04:13:00.000-05:00

By Air Force Staff Sgt. Jessica Switzer, Special to The Post and Courier
Thursday, February 25, 2010

MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU AIR BASE, Romania -- Nearly 40 years ago, murals depicting the glory of the Soviet military were freshly painted at the Novo Selo training area in Bulgaria.

Today, 20 years after the end of the Cold War, they are flaking, subdued images of a bygone era.

Now, artificial thunder echoes through the hills as a Bulgarian M1117 Guardian armored security vehicle runs the training course, mowing down targets with fire from its mounted heavy machine gun.

The son of a North Charleston man is faced with these reminders of the Cold War and the difficulties of conducting U.S. Army business in a foreign nation as a member of Joint Task Force-East, a multinational group designed to build stronger ties with Romania and Bulgaria.

The operation hones the skills of soldiers from all three nations and helps the people living in some of the poorest areas of the two European countries.

Army Sgt. Freddie L. Coakley, son of Freddie Coakley Jr. of North Charleston, is a petroleum laboratory specialist with the 240th Quartermaster Supply Company in Bamberg, Germany, and is in Romania to support the task force, based at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base.

"I'm responsible for the fuel operations in Romania," said the 1986 Garrett High School graduate. "We set up our system to make sure everything on base stays running."

Soldiers from all three countries trained together in individual and company-level movements as well as with armored vehicles, a variety of weapons and combat lifesaving skills. They also practiced the coordination needed to go into and clear a hostile urban area.

In addition to the training, the soldiers took time to visit a number of local villages and allowed children to explore the vehicles they were using.

"I enjoy being out here and meeting with a different nation's army and understanding how they operate in ways that are different from our Army," said Coakley, who served 10 years in the Navy before joining the Army four years ago. "Their equipment is very different from ours, but they still get the job done."

Military training wasn't the only reason American service members were in Romania and Bulgaria. A group of doctors and nurses traveled to several villages around the training bases in both countries. The team worked with local health care workers and translators to provide screenings for optical and other general health concerns.

There was also a team of Navy Seabees helping renovate and upgrade local schools and medical facilities.

Despite the language barrier and cultural differences, the American soldiers and their Bulgarian or Romanian counterparts usually were able to get their messages across.

"It amazes me how soldiers can be from two different countries but still be so alike," said Coakley.

Petrom reports worse-than-expected Q4 net loss

2010-02-26T04:02:00.002-05:00

BUCHAREST, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Romania's top oil and gas group Petrom, majority owned by Austria's OMV , recorded a worse-than-expected net loss of 171 million lei ($56.18 million) in the fourth quarter.

A Reuters poll published earlier this week produced an average forecast for a net loss of 75.4 million lei, compared with a net loss of 1.27 billion lei in the same period of last year and a 615 million lei profit in the third quarter of 2009.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was 38 million lei, a steep fall from 705 million EBIT in the previous quarter but better than the 1.2 billion loss before interest and taxes in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Net profit rose 34 percent to 1.368 billion lei last year on net turnover of 12.8 billion lei.
"Q4/09 was the second quarter since privatisation with negative net profit due to FX (foreign exchange) losses and interest expenses," Petrom said in a statement.
"Q4/09 EBIT was slightly positive and well above the level of Q4/08, which was negatively impacted by one-off items and a sharp oil price decline."

Petrom said it expected market conditions to remain challenging in 2010 and would continue restructuring, with focus on strict cost management.

"Priority for 2010 is to secure cash flow for future investments, both to maintain business sustainability and achieve growth potential," it said.

Petrom said it expected the market for refined products to remain challenging throughout the year, with a deeply depressed margin environment given the overcapacity in the industry in Romania as well as the rest of Europe.

Former Romanian-German spy fired from festival directorship

2010-02-26T04:01:00.002-05:00

Mainz,Germany - German author Peter Grosz was fired on Thursday from his role as theatre festival director, following revelations that he had spied on fellow authors for Romania's Securitate Communist secret police during the 1970s. The town council of Oppenheim, where Grosz headed the annual theatre festival, reached the unanimous decision that the author was no longer appropriate for the role."Grosz was no longer tenable," Oppenheim's mayor Marcus Held told German Press Agency dpa.

Grosz, an ethnic German born in Romania, admitted last week to having spied on, amongst others, fellow writer Richard Wagner, the ex-husband of Nobel literature prize winner Herta Mueller - both of whom are also of German-Romanian origin.He had only been in the role at the head of the Oppenheim theatre and culture festival since October 2009."I am personally very disappointed, he could have pointed out his history before finalizing the contract," Held said, adding that the events placed a question mark over this year's festival.The Oppenheim festival, in operation since 1989, attracted several thousand people annually, according to Held.Grosz said Securitate had put pressure on him to monitor ethnic German authors from 1974 until he left the country in 1977.Since coming to Germany, the author has helped promote young authors and theatric talent. He works as a teacher in the city of Mainz.The mayor of Oppenheim said the town had not evaluated Grosz' work for Securitate, but said they were disappointed at the way he had handled his past."He kept it secret for a long time, and that makes him impossible for the role of the festival director," Held said.

Read more: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/311280,former-romanian-german-spy-fired-from-festival-directorship.html#ixzz0gdAogNnL

FT: Environmentalists protest as miner goes for gold in Romanian mountains

2010-02-26T04:00:00.002-05:00

By Chris Bryant in Vienna

Published: February 26 2010 02:00 | Last updated: February 26 2010 02:00

Beneath the sleepy village of Rosia Montana in the Apuseni mountains of western Transylvania, the weathered soil holds a gleaming secret.

Around 140km of tunnels bear testament to centuries of effort to win riches from these rocks.

The pickaxes and drills fell silent in 2006 when the last state-subsidised mine was closed in preparation to join the European Union. But Gabriel Resources, a Toronto-based mining company, estimates there are still 10.1m ounces of gold at Rosia Montana, making it the richest untapped seam of gold in Europe.

With an economy in severe recession and gold prices in the ascendant, Romanian politicians are considering whether mining this gold might help reverse a sharp fall in tax receipts and unblock a freeze on foreign investment.

Digging up Rosia Montana's riches is not a foregone conclusion, however, owing to a decade-old campaign by environmentalists who say cyanide used to mine the gold could cause an ecological disaster.

The words "Baia Mare" are never far from campaigners' lips. On January 30, 2000, a dam containing cyanide tailings gave way, sending 100,000 tonnes of contaminated water into tributaries of the Danube. It killed more than 1,000 tonnes of fish and contaminated farmland and drinking water for miles around.

Ten years on, it is hard to find a Romanian who does not have an opinion on Rosia Montana. The project was in limbo after the environment ministry in September 2007 suspended a review of the environmental impact assessment, after a row about minor but vital documentation.

But the formation of a new government last December has put the matter back on the agenda.

"I want this project to start as soon as possible," Adriean Videanu, economy minister, said in December.

Asked about Rosia Montana at a recent investor meeting in Vienna, Sebastian Vladescu, finance minister, told the Financial Times: "In my opinion we need investors . . . If, from an environmental point of view, things can be clarified, then we will be supportive of all kinds of investment that will help us to clean [up] Romania. And I'm sure this will be also be a strong impulse for development of the mining sector and for growth."

With gold at $1,095 an ounce, Gabriel Resources claims mining the concession could generate $4bn for the Romanian economy over the 16-year lifespan of the project, while reinvigorating a beleaguered industry.

Before the fall of the Iron Curtain, Romania's mining industry employed 350,000 people. But by 1997, the number had halved as uneconomic mines were closed. Since then, tens of thousands of additional workers have lost their livelihoods as mining subsidies have been phased out.

The impact on single-industry towns such as Rosia Montana has been severe; unemployment in the area stands at more than 80 per cent. If it was allowed to tap the subterranean bounty, Gabriel Resources says it would create more than 800 jobs for local people who it claims are overwhelmingly in favour of the project.

The company argues that a modern tailings facility would prevent a repeat of the Baia Mare disaster. It also promises to clean up this highly polluted area .

But these arguments have not won over non-governmental organisations, which cast Gabriel Resources as a company out to make a quick buck at the expense of the environment and the community.

"It isn't even a Romanian company, it's a Canadian company, so I don't see how this can be in Romania's interest," says Lucian Simion, a campaigner at Greenpeace in Bucharest. "They want to destroy four mountains in the area [through open-cast mining] to take all the gold from it."

Richard Young, finance director of Gabriel Resources, says Rosia Montana is less about short-term profit and more an important test of the mineral-rich country's openness to foreign investment.

"Until this project starts to move forward, other mining companies are not going to risk their mining dollars.

"Mining has a negative legacy in eastern Europe from the communist period. What we're saying is, maybe mining isn't so bad."

Transelectrica, Transgaz see flat 2010 gross profit

2010-02-25T03:22:00.002-05:00

BUCHAREST, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Romania's state-owned power grid operator Transelectrica and gas pipeline operator Transgaz see their gross profits virtually unchanged this year, a draft economy ministry bill showed on Wednesday.

Transelectrica's 2010 gross profit is seen at 11 million lei ($3.6 million), down from last year's preliminary 12 million lei. Meanwhile, Transgaz sees its gross result at 352 million lei, compared with last year's 361 million.
The economy ministry posted the draft bill that sets the 2010 budget of the state firms in its portfolio up for public debate on Wednesday, before sending it to government for approval next month.