National Press Review, 7 March

The Evenimentul Zilei starts with an interview with the Liberal Democrat MEP Cristian Preda, who categorically stated that: ‘The PDL message – we keep the corrupt people, because they bring us votes.’ As he was asked by journalists if it can be brought into discussion the fact of the party members refusing to vote the criteria of integrity, Cristian Preda replied that: ‘I think it is a shift of the decision into an uncertain place at the local level of organization and of a sort of self annulment of the party’s national dimension. This may occur due to the Convention’s expectations’, Cristian Preda ended his idea, perhaps seeking an explanation for Saturday’s voting. His party colleagues’ decision had consequences and sent an external message explained the MEP. Quote: ‘How else can we determine the European Commission to trust in our ongoing progress by way of righteousness?’

The Evenimentul Zilei writes about the rising costs that students must cover – ‘Faculty, an investment of thousands of euros’ is the headline from which results that, in order to cover tuition fees and accommodation, a teenager must pay, on average, 6000 lei per year. Consequence: ‘discouraged, more and more young people give up faculty, ‘wrote the journalists.

The refusal of the integrity criteria proposed by Macovei and supported by Cristian Preda and Sever Voinescu is also analysed in the România Liberă, who threw a peek behind the scenes: The night before the vote, members of the Directors Board have decided to sweeten a bit the integrity criteria. It was introduced the possibility of self suspension. ‘As a sort of reward for the young members of the PDL, the Directors Board decided to draw up a Code of ethics to contain all the reformists ideas’, the România Liberă writes, informing us that ‘Monica Macovei does not give up. She will retry introducing the criteria in the May elections.’

Based on the information gathered by its journalists, the Gândul reports that in two years time some models made by the local car production at the plant in Mioveni is likely to be moved to Morocco. The Gândul writes that this is one of the main conclusions of the meeting held last week between representatives of the auto group and local officials. The article is not intended to have an alarmist tone – instead the Gândul suggests an analysis of what might happen in case the news confirmed. Suffice it to say, citing the data from the journalists that last year the domestic car brand has made exports of 2.5 billion euros – meaning about 7 percent of Romania’s total exports! As he was contacted by the Gândul for a response, the company’s vice President, Constantin Stroe denied any move of the production from Romania to Morocco.

2,900 people were hospitalized last year. Six suicides. This is the result caused by the consumption of herbal drugs and it is presented today in the Adevărul. ‘Death hurries herb psychedelics ban’ headlined the journalists reporting that: ‘The authorities are working on a draft bill to abolish all dreams shops and to prohibit t selling of the so-called soft drugs.’ Concretely, we learn from the Adevărul that violating the prohibition to produce, sell, own, intermediate, promote products derived from plants, shall be fined up to 100,000 lei. People who repeatedly violate the prohibitions shall be punished by 2 to 8 years in prison and by interdiction of certain rights.


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