What the newspapers say: March 31, 2009

A Romanian should work until his death and two years after, so that pensions funds wouldn’t collapse – this is the latest estimation of the labor market. To fill the picture, prices grow once again on April 1 (it’s not an April Fool joke). The only people who may enjoy living in Romania in the near future are those who will sell their adobe huts for millions of Euros, their properties being „in the way of vital development projects”.

The World Bank advised the Romanian Government to move the retirement age to 70 years for men, so that the pensions funds would not collapse. Unfortunately, the life expectancy in Romania is only 68 years, Cotidianul notes.

For all Romanians, April 1 will bring some bad news: prices grow for food, alcohol, tobacco and some 90% of the medicines produced locally, Evenimentul Zilei reads.

In the constructions business, things look better, but not a lot, for those who still wish to buy a home. The credits offered directly by developers have better terms, demand less documents and have a more attractive interest rate, but the refund term is between 3 and 15 years, Evenimentul Zilei notes.

Since residential projects are still blocked, the Bucharest City Council decided to give a push to the commercial development projects and approved the construction of a giant mall and of three towers in the heart of Bucharest. Several non-governmental organizations issued a protest, inquiring on both the opportunity and the legality of the decision. From the trees that have been cut to the alteration of the ground water layer, the NGOs brought several arguments in their favor, which passed unnoticed in the end, Gandul informs.

The happiest real estate owners in Bucharest are those who own properties in the way of the future interior motorway ring in Bucharest. The City Hall put up a 280 million Euros fund for expropriations, which means that each owner may receive up to 3 million Euros, an amount considered by many was „exaggerated”, Romania Libera reads.