National Press Review, December 14

The Evenimentul Zilei writes today about the suspension of Mircea Geoană from PSD. According to the PSD President, Victor Ponta, the decision made yesterday was a ‘final warning’. Geoană was called to give explanations at the meeting of the Standing Bureau, where he stated he did not want to harm the party.

He apologized for the statements posted on his blog and promised to remain a faithful soldier of the party. The Honorary

President, Ion Iliescu, said he advocates a healthy rebuke, but with no harsh sanctions. He even had a fight with Victor Ponta to defend Geoană. In the end, the PSD President managed to impose his decision to the forum that was mostly populated by former followers of Geoană.

Ponta threatened to convene a Congress to ‘clarify things’. As none of the PSD vice-presidents were sure of keeping their position in a Congress organised by Ponta, they preferred to please him.

In the Evenimentul Zilei we also read – Fight for the kitschy products made in China put on sale at the IRS shop. And here are the details: hundreds of people in Bucharest lined up in front of the first shop for confiscated goods opened by the IRS in the capital, trying to get their hands on the bargains they had heard about on TV.

Early in the morning, around 5 a.m., when the thermometre showed a few degrees below zero, the first buyers were waiting in line in front of the shop. By 9 a.m, when the shop opened, more than one hundred people were already waiting in queue. And their number continued to grow, reaching four hundred around noon.

The new Labour Code: 45 to 10 for employers – the Adevărul writes. Of the 79 articles in the Labour Code that will be amended, 10 are in favour of employees, 45 favour employes and 24 are neutral. The Labour Union Leaders are rejecting the new Labour Code draft.

They stated that they wouldn’t participate in any negotiations because the Government had used them to give the appearance of a democratic consultation.

In the same newspaper we read that a company in Iaşi received 6 million euros for the disinfection of avian influenza viruses in 2005-2006. DNA found the documents which reveal that the owner of this company bribed several executives in the Ministry of Transportation to get these contracts.

Real estate investments worth one billion euros unexploited in the capital- the Gândul headlines and explains: ‘There are projects in Bucharest with purchased land and bank investments that have been suspended’, Ştefan Dumitraşcu, the chief-architect of district 3 in the Capital declared for the Gândul. Thus, in the capital, there are currently about two million square metres of unfinished buildings, which are in various intermediate stages of design or construction.

Cheap Christmas trees – the Jurnalul Naţional writes. Christmas trees can be purchased this year at the market, the forestry units, the supermarket or even sitting in front of the computer, from online stores.

The prices are pretty much the same as last year and start at 20 lei. Thus, the cheapest Christmas trees can be purchased directly from forestry units in the country. The prices do not include VAT or the added taxes paid by traders in the markets. The National Forest Administration will sell this year about 120.000 Christmas Trees, the most expensive tree costing 30 lei, VAT excluded.

Translated by Manuela Stancu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University