What the Newspapers Say: September 27, 2006

Romania’s accession to the European Union looks a bit like a very long swim after a shipwreck. Reaching the shore exhausted, the first thing the survivor thinks is: “Well, what now”.

After years of watching every official move and blaming every decision that might have jeopardized Romania’s accession, the newspapers today are satisfied with noting that the green light is on.

Maybe, in a few years some things might change, most newspapers say, then return to their usual business. Corruption, the never-ending odyssey of the Information Services, who was and who wasn’t in Ceausescu’s political police, dirty business, food and liquor, political scandals - all the same, as if nothing had happened.

“You can’t even start to imagine how well the economy does today”, says prime minister Tariceanu, in an interview for Evenimentul Zilei. He also finds an explanation why the journalists aren’t dancing in the street yet: “Instead of talking about accession, politicians stay by the same small businesses.

And they newspapers… well… accession was a headline as long as Romania was incapable to meet the European demands. When things go well, the subjects falls in the second line”, Tariceanu believes.

In the interview, the prime minister seems to be sure about two facts: accession won’t cause a major emigration wave and the investments in education, health, agriculture and research would grow significantly. Everything is pink: extremists won’t gain ground and the unemployment rate is so low it is hard to handle major projects. So be it!

While Tariceanu praises the efforts the new leading political alliance put into fighting corruption, same Evenimentul Zilei finds a major controversial businessman free and un-bothered by any investigation, although, they say, the new media mogul has an old history of not paying his debts.

Sorin Ovidiu Vantu, who became this year one of the most important media owners in Romania, had a $ 3 MN loan from Bancorex, the bank that was the source of wealth for most of the controversial Romanian businessmen.

Vantu was manager of the General Investment Society at the time when the loan was acquired. The only head that fell belonged to the president of the Trust Council, Gh. Negura, who was sentenced to five years in jail. Other documents also show that Vantu had a $ 36 MN credit from the same bank, out of which he only paid 1.6 million dollars. Anti corruption works, at least for some businesses.

How well it works becomes obvious after reading Cotidianul: prosecutors went to the house of the former prime minister Adrian Nastase, to see the content of the safe houses they sealed a few months ago.

Not only was Nastase warned at the time about the incoming prosecutors, but living in the same house with the officially sealed safes really paid off: when prosecutors returned, they were absolutely empty. Even though Nastase previously joked about hiding a mummy in the safe house.

Nastase is investigated by the Anti Corruption Department, along with a member of his cabinet, Miron Mitrea, suspect in some abuse files. Both of them made it clear that Justice shall never prevail, at least for the simple reason that they are as innocent as a new born lamb.

Romanians should not worry too much about the destiny of the two politicians. More important news comes from Adevarul: home made spirits will be more and more expensive, while the housekeeping and utilities’ expenses will grow win an unprecedented rate. A scary winter at the horizon, so why would anyone care about Nastase?

After all, Nastase is in the same party with the future Information Service manager, nominated by Basescu, although the Liberal allies have longed for quite a while for that seat.

With the same kind of people leading the parade, is no wonder that Gandul finds ghost-companies that come to Romania and win biddings worth tens of millions of euros, although their activity here is represented by one employee and one laptop or desktop computer.

Nothing to worry, after all. Romanian corruption still stands, but Europe might find a way to fight it.

And it’s going to take some time, since Gandul informs how, after Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession, the European Union will shut it’s gates for a while. So be it!

HotNews.ro, Sep 27, 2006