National Press Review, December 6

The Gândul reads: ‘What grade receives the Romanian student, four years after our country’s accession to the European Union, from behalf of the former examiner Günter Verheugen,’ the European Commissioner for Enlargement at that time, who led our country’s negotiation accession.

‘There are still weak points in some sectors, which were well known. The country is politically less developed than others, but it is a matter of time until the EU membership will certainly help Romania improve its administrative capacities, which are still weak, and its legal system, which is a major obstacle as far as foreign investments are regarded.’

‘Corruption is another well known phenomenon in Romania which has to be and is being dealt with. You need a political culture that is not oriented towards individual or group interests. You need politicians who should put the interest of the entire society first and their own interests last,’ explained the former commissioner.

Also the Gândul writes about the allowance for mothers: ‘After yesterday’s meetings, the Coalition leaders failed to agree on government proposals. For now, the two years’ parental leave remains valid and the minimum threshold is still 600 lei. The IMF has not agreed with the 500 lei compensation for those returning earlier to work.’

‘During the meeting of the Coalition, it was also discussed the introduction of a solidarity levy for the wealthy Romanians, which will increase the budget with a few hundred million euros to cover a part of the social security deficit.”

‘The exodus of doctors’- covered in the newspapers again. After the last weekend’s international fair for recruiting professional doctors who want to work abroad, the Adevărul writes that over 2,400 doctors and pharmacists have visited the fair.

The lowest salary offered to the residents and nurses is 2,000 euros per month, while a doctor can earn up to 8-10 thousand per month. Since 2007 and until now, nearly nine thousand doctors and nurses have applied for certificates of conformity in order to work abroad, and in the recent months, the number of applicants has increased.

In Europe, the doctors migration toward the Western countries like Ireland, England or Germany, has emphasized the lack of medical staff in all of the countries of Eastern and Central Europe.

In order to stop this phenomenon, the European officials are working on an ethical code that will prohibit the EU Members to hire medical staff though the resort ministries of other Member States.

This will not prevent however the private companies from attracting doctors and nurses from countries such as Romania, where the wages are 20 times lower than those in Ireland, for example.

The Jurnalul Naţional today calls on the Parliament members to ban the stores of dreams, thus supporting a legislative initiative of the PNL senator, Mario Oprea. ‘There are towns in Romania where the local councils have decided to ban the “stores of dreams”.’

However, an uniform policy at the national level is required, because the local solutions solve the problem only partially. Without having a law in this respect, the ethonobotanical substances business will migrate from the prohibited areas towards the ones that tolerate such activity,’ draws the attention the newspaper.

In today’s Evenimentul Zilei you find a map with the motorways that would cross Romania in 2020, if the projects announced yesterday by the Transport Minister, Anca Boagiu, were to be completed.

In ten years time, Romania could have at least a thousand miles of motorway, compared to the 300 at present. In addition to the segments that are already under contruction, this week several new projects will be launched, such as the Nădlac-Sibiu section, which is to be ready in 2015.

The Evenimentul Zilei also asked the opinion of a British architect, who has recently visited Bucharest, regarding the appearance of our capital.

‘A good mayor, attached to the city, but also political courage. These are some conditions that could ensure the historical legacy of Bucharest,’ said Peter Bishop. He added that Bucharest is a great city with a very valuable historical architecture, which makes it unique in Europe.

Nevertheless, he has doubts regarding the way constructions are being carried out, taking into account that historical heritage can easily be destroyed. He said that the number of cars parked around the city and the way people use every piece of the pavement to park, steal the value of the centre of Bucharest.


Translated by Iulia Florescu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University