January 2, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 02.01.2025, 19:10
Spending. In Romania, the new year has come with new price hikes and a series of tax measures aimed at cutting budget spending. The latter include a government emergency order to freeze pensions and budget sector salaries, as well as child allowances. A freeze on new hires in the public sector is also in place, and a number of public agencies and institutions will be dismantled or merged. The emergency order also eliminates tax reliefs for the employees in the IT, constructions, agriculture and food industry sectors. The new order also raises dividend tax from 8 to 10% and introduces a new tax on special constructions. The ceiling for small enterprises will be reduced from 500,000 euros at present to 250,000 euros. Students will benefit from discounts on railways tickets only on journeys from home to university.
Drugs. More than 1,600 people were detained and 1,400 others held in temporary custody as part of actions carried out by the Romanian police last year to combat drug trafficking. The Romanian Police said it conducted over 3,000 home searches and dismantled 43 organised crime groups numbering hundreds of members. More than 1,000 kilograms of risk and high-risk drugs and more than 1.2 million pills were seized.
Incomes. 1.8 million Romanian employees will see their salaries go up from 1st January with the increase in the minimum wage to some 810 euros. Fines for traffic offenses were increased, as well, and fuel has become more expensive following the rise in excise duties. The price of underground transport, beer and sparkling wine has also gone up.
Travel. Romania is one of the 25 best places to visit in 2025 according to CNN Travel. The list, which entails exotic destinations from Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe, is not a classification, but an account of tourist sites in alphabetical order, from Almaty in Kazakhstan, to Vancouver Island in Canada. “There aren’t many places left in Europe that still have that undiscovered vibe, but Romania comes close”, writes CNN Travel, adding: “That’s a gift in these days of overtourism — for here’s a country that has everything, from the beach resorts of the Black Sea to the drop-dead gorgeousness of the Carpathian Mountains, and is reputedly trying to grow visitor numbers sustainably. Yes, there’s the Dracula thing at Bran Castle for other gothic medieval treats in wider Transylvania and beyond, try Timișoara, Cluj Napoca, Sibiu, Brasov and Sebes. Capital Bucharest has a charming Old Town, now a bit overloaded with tourist bars and restaurants, but the city’s recent history is still a major draw”, end of quote. The Romanian countryside is also mentioned, with CNN Travel noting: “There’s probably no better way to explore this than the recently launched Via Transilvanica, an 870-mile (1,400-kilometer) hiking trail through rural landscapes and villages seemingly frozen in time.”
Weather. The weather will become very cold in the next 24 hours, especially in the south-west, west and north-east of the country. On Thursday, an orange code warning for blizzard was issued until Friday morning in the mountain regions in ten counties across Romania, as well as two yellow code alerts for wind in place in the centre, north-west, east and south. In the regions in question, wind speeds are expected to pass 110-120 km/hour, and strong blizzards and low visibility of under 50 metres are forecast. Precipitation, including snow, is expected until Saturday in most regions.
