National Press Review, February 9

Today’s newspapers open their issues with the series ‘Bribe in the customs’, episode ‘Western Border’.

‘The bribe in customs, filmed through the walls’ – headlines the Adevărul.

Border officials and police officers have been filmed with video cameras placed both in the booths where documents control took place and in several other rooms in the two offices. The surveillance equipment captured not only corruption, but also... love affairs.

The ROMÂNIA LIBERĂ: the anti-corruption operations conducted yesterday in the western borders reveal the fabulous amounts that cumulate from bribes played by traffickers. In one hour only, the amounts gathered by border officials and policemen range between 5,000 and 25,000 euros.

‘A lot of TV fuss, but no conviction in 5 years’ - is the title in the Evenimentul Zilei. The prosecutors’ offensive on borders did not start yesterday, but years ago. The major cases in which customs officials were accused haven’t been, however, yet classified. Insufficient proof, procedural flaws, the passivity of judges and the prolonged court hearings – here are some of the reasons.

Finally, the daily Gândul also captures the political connotations of the events: the arrest in customs rekindles the war between parties – the SDP and the LDP accuse each other of coordinating black money in customs. The Social Democrats accuse the Liberal-Democrats of being the ones who are getting the money from bribes. The Liberal-Democrats argue that the Social-Democrats are getting the money.

Meanwhile – the Gândul also note – if in Siret the money were collected in buckets, on the Western border methods are more refined – bribes are collected...in the hat. And with some of these hats, big fortunes are collected as the one of a foreman in Moraviţa customs: five mansions and three lands.

Another common topic in today’s newspapers: the vote in the Chamber of Deputies by which the National Anticorruption Directorate request for provisional arrest of a congressman (Dan Păsat , the PNL) is declined – short pass over titles. The Gândul: ‘Deputies saved Pasat from being arrested’.

Two months after they defended Monica Iacob Ridzi, deputies rejected the request for provisional arest in the case of Dan Păsat. The Evenimentul Zilei: ‘The Democrat-Liberal Pasat ‘detained’ at work, the România Liberă : ‘The Liberal-Democrat Party lied, Pasat got away’. The LDP leaders had promised a transparent vote, but they did not keep the promise. The Adevărul headlines: ‘The PDL defending its corrupted member to the end’, and the Jurnalul Naţional states: ‘The coalition saved Pasat from being arrested’ although – the newspapers notice – the opposition is not tired yet of voting against Pasat: the PSD, the PNL and the PC stayed in the room but did not vote, reason enough for other accusations, exchange of views and arguments between the Power and the Opposition.


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