The Economist

Corruption scandals hit the headlines, but not the guilty

EVERY man has his price; a minister’s is just higher. Fixing a public tender in Romania may require a few euros. And some sausages.

The government, using an emergency decree that avoids a parliamentary vote, has dissolved an advisory commission on lifting suspects’ immunity. New amendments to the penal code prescribe jail sentences of up to seven years for journalists who publish material showing officials involved in bribe-taking, and also reduce the penalties for actual wrong-doing by raising the financial threshold for corruption charges. As for existing cases, including one involving a former prime minister, Adrian Nastase (who insists he is innocent), most are bogged down in procedural delays.

It was worries over high-level corruption and an ineffective judiciary that preoccupied the European Union in the period before Romania and Bulgaria joined, which they did in January. But since Romania squeezed in, its politicians and top officials have been busily trying to reclaim the privileges and immunities they were forced to give up during the accession negotiations.

Public outrage against corruption is still high, yet the bleak perception is that it flourishes. In the latest survey by Transparency International, a Berlin-based watchdog, Romania is rated the most corrupt country in the EU. Public opinion has yet to make itself felt on the issue. Optimists hope that a bad government will eventually exhaust voters’ patience. Pessimists fear that the sight of a shamelessly corrupt new member may discredit the very notion of the EU’s enlargement.

The News Tribune

ROME — A woman who was raped and beaten near a Gypsy camp allegedly by a Romanian died Thursday night, state radio reported

“Horror in Rome” read the front-page headline Thursday in Il Messaggeroa daily newspaper in the city. “End of tolerance,”..

A series of violent crimes in the capital has been blamed on Romanians in recent months. Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore was hospitalized over the summer after he was punched in the jaw by one of two muggers in an upscale neighborhood.

In August, three Romanians allegedly mugged a cyclist along the Tiber River. The cyclist died in early October after weeks in a coma.

… I’m too sad and ashamed to even comment. But yes, the two articles are linked: the behavior of some Romanian citizens abroad (in Romania, too) is in many ways a consequence of the lack of respect the Romanian authorities have for the Law, for decades. And no, they will not be punished in elections, because there is no real choice: all Romanian parties, all institutions are corrupted. Since 1989 Romanians are voting against one party, the one they see the most corrupt, not for another party, because it’s not what they want, it just seems, at the elections time, ‘less corrupt’ than the other. But every time is even worse.

Sometimes I feel there is no way out.

Profesorul Witold A. Zatonski conduce de trei ani proiectul ‘Closing the Gap‘, avand ca subiect de studiu ‘inegalitatile’ dintre primii 15 membri ai UE (EU15) si noile tari membre est-europene in ceea ce priveste starea de sanatate.

Studiul a constatat ca rata mortalitatii din cauze cardio-vasculare este mult mai ridicata in tarile est - europene. Unul dintre motive ar fi consumul excesiv de alcool. Nimic surprinzator.
Paradoxal, numarul cazurilor de deces ca urmare a bolilor cardio-vasculare a scazut totusi in ‘EU5′ (Cehia, Ungaria, Polonia, Slovenia si Slovacia) din cauza inlocuirii progresive in alimentatie a grasimilor animale cu cele vegetale (un factor important se pare ca a fost evolutia dupa 1990 a preturilor la diferitele alimente de baza ).
In schimb, in ce priveste EU2 (Bulgaria si Romania), exista o ipoteza conform careia preferintele legate de tipurile de uleiuri vegetale alimentare ar putea fi o cauza. Mai precis, in aceasta zona predomina consumul de ulei de floarea-soarelui, care nu contine acizi grasi tip omega-C (omega-3- o sursa cunoscuta fiind ‘uleiul de peste’), care, potrivit studiilor, ar duce la scaderea riscului bolilor cardio-vasculare. O solutie ar putea fi amestecarea uleiului de floarea soarelui utilizat in bucatarie cu alte uleiuri vegetale.

Concluzia studiului: ‘inegalitatile’ in ceea priveste sanatatea dintre cele doua ‘grupe’ de tari europene se datoreaza stilului de viata diferit.
In interviul de pe EuroActiv, profesorul Zatonski explica faptul ca aceasta nu este o problema legata de saracie, ca poti fuma, manca incorect sau duce o viata dezordonata si daca ai destui bani. Pana aici corect. Dar … romanii mananca in general dupa cum ii tin buzunarele … unii manaca sanatos … multi sunt fericiti ca au ce manca … altii…

Today starts the first campaign for EU Parliament in Romania, but my hopes for real debates on European issues are, once again, ruined.

The elections will be on November 25th. Our President and our Prime-Minister (seems to me that the ‘great’ minds do really meet) decided to have referendum on the uninominal vote at the same date, if possible each of them with his own referendum, because the Prime-Minister announced that the Government intends to assume responsibility for the Uninominal Vote Law, yet the clown at Cotroceni published a decree for the same matter.

They both know this is a useless referendum - the citizens are asking for uninominal vote for years (although I doubt that they really understood what it means).

In consequence, the campaign for the European elections is taking place at the same time with the campaign on the uninominal vote referendum - Guess which of them will attract more political circus? The second, of course. Who cares about our future in Europe? Nor the Romanian President neither the Prime-Minister, for sure.

N.B. When Basescu decided to allow US military bases (US, not NATO, guys!) on Romanian territory, the possibility of organizing a referendum just slipped his mind. Or his mind slipped? I cannot really tell …

Pe 16 octombrie a avut loc un eveniment cu titlul „Teme europene pentru alegeri europene”, organizat de Clubul Romania-UE, Asociatia Pro Democratia,Biroul de Informare al Parlamentului European in Romania, si avand parteneri media Euractiv Romania si Hotnews.
Dezbaterile au pornit de la raspunsurile primite de la cateva partide (PD, PNL, PNTCD, PSD) la chestionarele trimise de Clubul Romania-UE.

Cand sa ma bucur si eu ca in sfarsit au si romanii dezbateri serioase pe teme europene, vad ca acestea au avut loc la Bruxelles. Mda… doar trebuie informati si functionarii romani din institutiile UE …doar si ei voteaza la europarlamentare. Ma rog, mai bine decat nimic. Pacat de efort, daca era macar mediatizat in tara, ar fi fost mai util. Inca o plimbare platita la Bruxelles pentru ‘catindati’

Since more and more Romanians are fighting for their rights in European Courts, after losing any hope in the black hole called ‘Romanian Justice’, I think these links might be useful:

European Court of Human Rights - ECHU (CEDO - for Romanians).

Good luck!

Note: at this hour, Gabriel Stefanescu, who recently won a trial at ECHR, is invited at Victor Ciutacu’s talk show. (Who knows, maybe this is the way to recover the money for the “lost” Romanian fleet :D)

(N.B. ECHR is not an EU institution, it belongs to the Council of Europe - international organization, independent of EU)

Traian Basescu decorated today three Rroma - Dumitru Tranca, Traian Grancea and Ion Minutescu - that, during the second World War, have been deported in Transnistria.
He read few words in their own language, something like this:

Please excuse us, dear brothers and sisters, for what was in the past, and we will build together a beautiful future for Romania.

Oh, yeah, Mr. President, it’s a long way from ’stinky gipsy’ to ‘dear brothers and sisters’.

He also said that Rroma are the most discriminated minority in Europe, asking for an European policy for them.

Romania will help Montenegro to avoid bumps on road to EU, said president Basescu during the visit of his Montenegrin counterpart Filip Vujanovic

Romania wants to share with Montenegro the experience it gained during the EU and NATO accession process. We are prepared to put at your disposal competent advisers who worked on (our) entry into the EU. That will allow you to avoid mistakes that we ourselves made during this process.

…added Traian Basescu.

Knowing Basescu, I wonder if Montenegro had even the chance to ask for this kind of support from Romania, the country that did not catch the 2004 wave, and now is facing the risk of salvgardation clause.
I hope Montenegro will find better alternatives.

The references to the Moldovan language on the website of the EU Commission were changed, EU Commissioner for Multilingualism Leonard Orban told in a conference, on Friday:

On the European Commission’s web page the syntagm ‘Moldovan language’ is written, while in fact the text is in the Romanian language. It is a problem, when the site reads the Moldovan language and in fact this is the Romanian language. It cannot be accepted that a document said to be written in another language be written in the Romanian language.

The European Commissioner said that from now on the European Commission would monitor very strictly everything posted on its web page.

Orban said that this is a problem of ‘defending the Romanian language.’

Tomorrow starts the 9th International Festival of Documentary Film and Visual Anthropology, ASTRA FILM SIBIU 2007.

One of the special programs is “View on Eastern Europe” - a selection of documentaries produced by Arte and BBC/Ch4 in the last 15 years about Eastern Europe.
There will be live transmissions on Arte TV and daily news on TV5, Duna TV.

Promo

In timpul inundatiilor din septembrie orasul Tecuci a fost una dintre localitatile lovite de soarta. Asa cum spun cei de pe Sinistrati.info : “de obicei zarva se face in primele zile. Ulterior, zbaterea ramane doar a celor loviti de soarta”. Au venit televiziuni, au venit politicieni sa faca poze si bai de multime, cativa oameni inimosi (altii) au sarit cu adevarat in ajutorul tecucenilor. Dar apoi s-a asternut tacerea. In mai putin de o luna, romanii, prinsi in valtoarea motiunilor, circului partidelor si penibilei pseudo-batalii anticoruptie au uitat.
A ramas durerea, mizeria, frigul, disperarea …
Sa ne amintim de ei. Sa ne amintim ca suntem oameni. Sa ne amintim ce inseamna a fi oameni.

Un gand bun celor care au scris zilele acestea in blogul personal sau au pomenit pe diferite cai romanilor despre situatia actuala a tecucenilor. Poate le trece amnezia si celor platiti din banii nostri, vor lasa putin ’show’-ul si afacerile personale si isi vor face datoria.