The share of employees across the globe who have seen their roles change following the implementation of intelligent automation solutions continues to rise and reaches 34%, compared to 23% in 2020 according to the latest edition of Deloitte Automation with Intelligence survey, conducted in 34 countries, including Romania.

The Deloitte Foundation and World Vision inaugurate at Romexpo the second center that will provide educational and recreational activities for Ukrainian pupils and preschool children, as well as English and Romanian classes for their mothers, psychological, legal and occupational counseling. The first such center, located in the Tei Student Sports Cultural Complex in Bucharest, was opened in May 2022, and, in the first three months since its inauguration, approximately 100 people, mothers and children, benefited from over 500 hours of activities organized there.

Deloitte was recognized as the Romanian Tax Firm of the Year at the 2022 edition of the Tax Awards, organized by the prestigious International Tax Review (ITR) publication. Deloitte also received ITR recognition in Romania for Tax Disputes.

Romania ranks second in the top of the European countries with the cheapest housing, after Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to Deloitte Property Index 2022, conducted in 23 countries and 68 cities, with an average price of 1,266 EUR/sqm, calculated based on data from the main cities and towns in the country. Compared to the previous year, the average price is 7.3% higher. The list of countries on the continent with the lowest average prices also includes Serbia (1,520 EUR/sqm) and Portugal (1,537 EUR/sqm)*. In the cities ranking, the most expensive in our country is Cluj-Napoca, with an average of 1,940 EUR/sqm, followed by Bucharest (1,573 EUR/sqm) and Brasov (1,348 EUR/sqm).

Watching TV and movies at home remains the favourite entertainment activity for consumers across generations, according to the latest edition of Deloitte Digital Media Trends, especially among Baby Boomers (40%) and Gen Xs (27%), followed by Millennials (20%). For younger consumers, the preferences have shifted to gaming, as 24% of Gen Zs representatives, aged 14-25, mention playing video games as their top entertainment activity, compared to 16%, who prefer watching TV and movies at home.

The economic conditions will worsen over the coming months, according to 86% of the participants to the Deloitte Private Equity (PE) Confidence Survey, as COVID-19, the war in Ukraine and inflation are impacting purchasing, supply chains and interest rates. The pessimism is even stronger than when the pandemic first hit and none of the survey respondents expects an improvement in the overall economic climate.

The level of stress faced by more than half of working women (53%) is higher than a year ago, and 46% say they are exhausted, according to Deloitte's Women @ Work 2022 Study, conducted globally. Moreover, exhaustion (burnout) is one of the main reasons why women decide to resign (40%). More than half of the study participants want to leave their current employer within two years and only 10% plan to maintain their job for more than five years.

The overall economic situation and the social and political context are the main reasons for concern for Romanian Millennials and Generation Z, who expect worse economic conditions (59% of Millennials and 49% of Gen Z) and sociopolitical context (55% and 45%, respectively) this year, up by at least ten points compared to last year, according to Deloitte Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey 2022, conducted in 46 countries around the world, including Romania.

The Romanian Government has approved a series of derogations from the immigration legislation, in order to allow Ukrainian citizens to work in Romania without the need to obtain a work permit and a long-stay visa. According to the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 20 (GEO 20), adopted on March 8, 2022, all Ukrainian citizens who will sign an individual employment contract with a Romanian company can extend their stay by obtaining a residence permit for work purposes, directly from Romania, without being necessary to leave the country.

The European Commission decided on Thursday, March 3, 2022, to introduce the temporary protection for the Ukrainian nationals. During the official press conference following the EC decision, on Friday, March 4, the representatives of the Romanian authorities confirmed that the mechanism will be applicable in Romania for those Ukrainian nationals who decide to remain in our country.

Romania ranks 44th out of 168 countries, climbing one position in the global ranking, but continues to be surpassed by all the other EU member states, according to the 2021 Social Progress Index, which analyzes the quality of life and social wellbeing and is conducted by the non-profit organization Social Progress Imperative with the support of Deloitte. Romania registers a score of 78.41 points out of 100, slightly higher than last year, which places it among the ranking’s third category countries, after Argentina, Hungary and Bulgaria.

The market of non-performing receivables assignment is blocked in Romania due to excessive taxation of the amounts obtained from such transactions, a rule that entered into force on January 1, 2018. This tax treatment discouraged companies in several sectors from selling such receivables, but especially financial institutions, which often resorted to such operations to clean up their balance sheet, according to the recommendations of the National Bank of Romania.

Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal has been recognized again this year as a top law firm by the independent international publication EMEA Legal 500 in nine practice areas: real estate and construction, banking and finance, commercial, corporate and M&A, employment, tax, EU and competition, PPP and procurement, TMT and dispute resolution. The ranking assesses law firms in over 150 jurisdictions and is based on feedback from 300,000 lawyers working for in-house legal departments, on information submitted by law firms and interviews with leading lawyers.

ECOTIC, an e-waste collection scheme, has managed to collect over 175 000 tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment in 13 years of activity, thus ensuring the protection of the environment from harmful substances contained in this type of waste.

Deloitte Romania has appointed Radu Dumitrescu Partner-in-Charge of the Financial Advisory practice, effective as of June 2020. In his new role, Radu Dumitrescu will coordinate the transaction support and reorganization services teams, the corporate finance advisory experts, the forensic professionals, as well as the valuation, economics and modelling team.

Romania has established five road corridors for all cargo transports passing through the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure and Communications makes available to all road haulage operators in the EU or Non-EU Member States an interactive map of transit routes in Romania. This map, in addition to the actual route, also contains information on fuel stations and parking lots for those in transit.

A Romanian citizen aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship which as been quarantined in japan has been found infected with the coronavirus, Romania's Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday. 17 Romanians are among the 3,700 passangers and crew aboard the ship.

A large number of Romanian journalists and several media institutions this week reacted with a rare display of solidarity against something they saw as a threat to their profession: an income tax exemption voted for them by deputies. As the President is expected to approve the bill, a wave of protests, letters and positions have been heard on the issue.

The European Commission on Wednesday decided to warn Romania to take urgent action in order to stop illegal logging. it sent a letter of formal notice to Romania to take the necessary measures in this within a month - a first step in the infringement procedure.