Financial Press Review, 5 May

Articles from the Ziarul Financiar, the Curierul Naţional, the Bursa and the Dilema
veche.

Under the heading ‘Labour Code suddenly blanks tens of thousands of jobs,’ the
Curierul Naţional revealed that the new code, which became valid since Monday,
stipulates severe sanctions against illegal labour.

Under the old Labour Code there were made only 10-12 contracts per day.

Also about work is the article headed ‘Occupation, a gold mine,’ signed by Professor
Vintilă Mihăilescu in the Dilema Veche magazine.

‘After the fall of communism, oddly enough, the idea of work has been stigmatized,
being associated with “working people” and those with “communist profiteers”.’

‘Damaging anticommunism!’ the author wrote.’ The industrial occupations have declined
along with industry and the trade schools no longer draw the interest of anyone. On the
other hand, the only market offering reasonable employment opportunities is the external
one, more informal, where the traditional flexibility of the Romanian craftsmen is again
at a big price. (...) But can it be competitive – or even adaptive – in the future?’, the
famous anthropologist wondered, while implicitly suggesting the answer.

Under the heading ‘Schengen accession: bad news,’ the Curierul Naţional wrote: ‘A
research released yesterday by Europol, the organization to fight crime at European level,
obstructs Romania and Bulgaria’s free access to the Community.’

The report appeared just two days after the positive opinion given by the MEPs, who
decided that both countries meet all the requirements.

According to Europol research, ‘South-eastern Europe has become the primary gateway
for drug dealing, illegal weapons sale and human traffic in the European Union. (...) The
criminal groups from Albania, Turkey or the former Soviet Union might take advantage
of the extension of the European freedom borders, in case Romania and Bulgaria will join
the Schengen area,’ it was shown by the report.

The Daily Bursa published an article headed ‘Finances have borrowed nearly one billion
euros.’

It was about the first emission of bonds that has been launched this year on the local
market by the ministry, the Ziarul Financiar also noted. By this loan, the Ministry of
Finance has absorbed the currency that came on the market after reducing the minimal
required supplies.

A better use of the money supplies would be that they are left to the banks for financing
the real economy, wrote the Bursa quoting the view of the financial analyst Lucian Isar.

‘Romania has not come out so far on foreign markets because there is no interest for
Romanian securities due to a combination of factors including political uncertainty and
distrust in continuing the announced fiscal achievements’, the Ziarul Financiar quoted
Nicolae Chideşciuc, chief economist at ING Bank.

Translated by: Iulia Florescu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University