National Press Review, March 16

“The price of a judge: 50.000 Euros”, România Liberă writes. Not just any judge, but the Vice-President of the Appeal Court of Timisoara, Cãtãlin Serban, a magistrate who has had an honourable image over the years, until recently, when the National Anticorruption Directorate(DNA) apprehended his wife in the act of receiving a bribe.

In Adevărul, we read about the same corruption file and the “trail of the bribe”: “The cancer within the Ministry of Justice even has a recipe: police officer, politician, judge”. It’s the “bomb news for March”, a lawyer from the Timis Bar said. A local politician, a bribe giver and the chief of police are also involved. Serban’s defence lawyer stated that the money should have reached three other judges, who “will probably be subpoenaed as witnesses in the case”.

“Three quarters of the restructuring process was carried out through retirement” – an analysis conducted by Ziarul Financiar shows. This is how Romania has managed to achieve the target imposed by the International Monetary Fund(FMI). Out of two hundred thousand “restructured” public employees within the last three years, 150.000 of them have simply retired.

This conclusion drawn by the publication is confirmed by a superior official from the public administration: “I doubt state employees have been fired; I haven’t heard of such a thing”. On the other hand, in the private sector, drastic personnel reductions have been applied: 700.000 positions since the onset of the crisis.

“Banks are in panic: clients are beginning to win trials” – a positive sign we find in the pages of Evenimentul Zilei, for those who have had to put up with commissions and abusive clauses, excessively increased interest rates, but especially with arrogance taken to the extreme when requesting for a credit. The newspaper presents a few examples of trials which have resulted in favourable outcomes for the bank clients.

In the opinion of Curierul Naţional, “The Code of Good Practice is a bankrupt law”. Considering that the law has been in effect for over two years, it should have achieved its goals: up to thirty percent lower prices, concrete support for local producers and a reduction of imports with twenty-thirty percent.

The Code of Good Practice has not fulfilled any of these tasks. Quite the opposite – its consequences are negative. According to the Competition Council, the market has been overregulated and the legislation needs to be improved.

“The National Liberal Party(PNL) is leaving the door open for a possible collaboration with the Liberal Democratic Party after the elections”, we read in Evenimentul Zilei, which, in the journalists’ view, is a sign of trust. Guided by the “never say never” principle, Crin Antonescu is taking safety measures concerning a potential betrayal on Victor Ponta’s part. The National Liberal Party(PNL)’s statute does not include an interdiction to collaborate with the liberal-democrats. But this is apparently not necessary, since it is specified in the Social Liberal Union’s party establishment document, and the liberals are trustworthy, as stated by Crin Antonescu.

From Jurnalul Naţional we find who the computer genius who has left everyone in awe is: the leader of BitDefender, Dragos Gavrilut, a dentist - he removes the virus both from your teeth and from the web! He has recently helped Yahoo Messenger get rid of a problem, but he is also working together with more prestigious names in the industry, such as Facebook or the CIA.

How the leader of Bitdefender managed to bring his laboratory from Iasi into the foreground of the computer world, we find out from the pages of today’s Jurnalul Naţional.

Translated by:
Cristina Baciu, MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University