National Press Review, 19 April

Termination of new contract for the highway construction announced by the Ministry of Transportation, for the segment Moara Vlăsiei Ploieşti, is the topic which doesn’t miss from any of today’s newspapers, even though the approach might be different.

‘Road workers lose another contract with the state’, the Evenimentul Zilei headlines or ‘Anca Boagiu is having her way with the kings of asphalt’, the Adevărul reads, both newspapers giving justice to the minister for sanctioning the big delays for these projects.

The România Liberă promises from the title revelations on the famous contract severance.

Constructors have requested a new increase of 47 per cent, which comes after another increase of the value of the contract, of 25 per cent, approved about two years ago.

If the state had approved the last request of the road workers, this fat would have taken to an increase of 72 per cent in the value of the initial contract.

The Puterea writes that, on the contrary, the severance of the contract at this point would bring extra money to road workers, known as friend-companies of the current political power.

The newspaper claims that the ones named ‘kings of asphalt’, namely Umbrărescu, Căşuneanu şi Besciu, are in fact very pleased they have won the tender for building several segments on the Sibiu-Nădlac highway, which is made with European funds, money that come safe, while not being very infatuated with the segment Moara Vlăsiei-Polieşti, built with money from the poor Government budget.

‘The deserted highway’, the Jurnalul Naţional headlines, deploring the fact that the Government fails to complete any work.

‘Last week Cernavodă-Medgidia was left without a constructor. Yesterday, the segment Moara Vlăsiei - Ploieşti was abandoned. This one is 42 kilometres long, works began back in 2006 and we can brag about 60 per cent execution.’

‘However we pay heavily for the invisible project: in 2009, a simple change of solution dislocated 76 million euros from the budged. The result: the Bucharest- Braşov highway, five years on construction sites, losses of millions of euros, zero finalized kilometres.’

On turn, the daily Azi sees in the measure taken by the head of transportation. ‘Anca Boagiu deals the cards for the election campaign.’

The Government’s responsibility assumption, taken yesterday in Parliament, to stop the salary increases for teachers, who have won in Court, determined education trade unions to claim the Romanian authorities to the International Labour Organization and the Institute of International Education, the Puterea announced.

Regarding the same event, the Jurnalul Naţional denounced the position of the Chamber of Deputies’ board, which prohibited a delegation of teachers to attend the public session regarding the responsibility assumption on a law impacting them.

‘Littoral in ruin before 1 May’, the Adevărul reads.

The beaches are messy and deserted, glass chips compete with soda cans debris abandoned by last year’s tourists, the only new things that are the holes left behind by the workers who are still repairing the sewage systems, while the accommodations have not been renovated at all.

Authorities and hoteliers trumpet out loud that the entire seaside is ready to receive tourists.

‘European aid – we’re paying for the plunder’ is the headline of an article in the Jurnalul Naţional, which indicates that a report of the Court of Audit of the European Union criticizes Brussels for pillaging European contributors.

It is regarding the aid that goes to very poor countries, especially from Africa.

African dance lessons, airplanes or corrupt tyrants electoral posters, drug stores transformed into toilets, millions of euro are spent on these sort of things, plus millions more for organizing the bureaucracy of the aid and personnel.

Results are close to nothing.

Translated by: Manuela Stancu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University