February 10, 2018 UPDATE

The National Bank of Romania has revised upward, to 3.5%, the inflation rate forecast for the end of the year/ The process of introducing the European Medicines Verification System (EMVS) has officially been launched in Romania

Corina Cristea, 10.02.2018, 18:44

INFLATION – The National Bank of Romania has revised upward, to 3.5%, the inflation rate forecast for the end of the year, the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isărescu, has announced. According to an earlier forecast, the inflation rate was estimated at 3.1%. Isarescu explained the main engine of economic growth is consumption, a situation which has had negative effects on the trade deficit which increased by 30% in 2017. Mugur Isărescu has also mentioned some structural problems with a significant impact on the economy, among which tensions on the labour market, the growing difference between the level of imports and exports, the fiscal and income policy which is currently being pursued and whose effects are likely to disappear only as of next year.

MEDICINES – The process of introducing the European Medicines Verification System (EMVS) has officially been launched in Romania. The system will become operational in all EU member states next year. Consequently, as of February 9, 2019, only the medicines which respect the new security regulations in the field will circulate across the EU. The relevant authorities, representatives of the line industry and pharmacists say the initiative is essential in ensuring the patients safety and health, given that there is a growing risk of fake products entering the commercial chain. According to the new regulations, pharmacists will no longer be allowed to open medicine boxes and to sell only a few tablets, if patients make such a request.

TOURISM – The most exquisite Romanian tourist project, the ice hotel at Bâlea Lake has been officially inaugurated, in the presence of the Canadian ambassador to Bucharest, Kevin Hamilton. The theme of the ice hotel this year is music. The 14 rooms and igloos are decorated with ice statues featuring such famous artists as Madonna, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. Tourists had the opportunity to get accommodation in the ice hotel as early as December 2017. A double room costs 100 Euros. Those who want to only visit the hotel should pay a ticket worth 3 Euros for adults and 2 Euros for children. Tourists can reach Bâlea Lake, at an altitude of over 2,000 m, by cable car, which covers a distance of 3,700m, over Balea Valley. The ice hotel is the only of its kind in Romania.

JOINT DRILLS – One hundred Romanian troops will take part, as of Monday in joint military exercises alongside some 200 military from the United States, Moldova, Bulgaria and Ukraine. The exercises will be unfolding for five days, at a military base in Babadag, in Tulcea County, south-eastern Romania.

MALTA – The Romanian Foreign Ministry has confirmed, based on data provided by the representatives of the consular office in Catania (Sicily, Italy) that a Romanian citizen died and another one was injured during a storm which hit Malta on Saturday. Romanias Consulate in Catania is monitoring the situation, is in permanent contact with the local authorities as well as with the Romanian national who has sustained injuries, providing the necessary consular assistance. The two Romanian nationals were travelling by a van which was hit by a falling tree. Gale force wind and torrential rain hit Malta, submerging roads, after months of low-level precipitations.

WINTER OLYMIC GAMES– The first of the 28 Romanian athletes taking part in the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, which come to a close on February 25, on Saturday ran in the first competitions. They took part in the cross-country skiing, luge and biathlon events. PyeongChang in the Taebaek Mountains got the right to organise the Winter Olympic Games after having submitted its candidacy three times, in 2010, 2014 and 2018. It is the first edition of the Winter Olympic Games and the second edition of the Olympic Games hosted by South Korea. PyeongChang is also the third Asian city to host the Winter Olympic Games, after Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998, both in Japan. Over a period of more than two weeks, PyeongChang will host 102 sports events. This edition of the Olympic Games is attended by over 2,900 athletes from 95 countries.