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Mihu, Laurentiu
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3 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Prison sentence for ex-PM endangers party
Romania's former prime minister Adrian Năstase (2000 - 2004) was sentenced by the supreme court in Bucharest to two years in prison for illegal party financing on Monday. According to the verdict he embezzled around 1.6 million euros from companies and entrepreneurs, which he put toward his 2004 presidential campaign. The daily România Liberă suspects that his party, the social-democratic PSD, could collapse as a result: "The sentencing of a politician of Adrian Năstase's calibre will open a Pandora's box in his own party which will cause extreme difficulties for party leader Victor Ponta. ... On the one hand the prison sentence will tarnish the party's image, on the other hand the party could split up into opposing camps - the supporters of Năstase and those who distance themselves from him (whether out of principle or fear). Party leader Victor Ponta has already explained to Năstase that the party will not try to protect him in the event of a conviction, especially since other cases against him are still pending. ... Consequently it will be difficult to calm the PSD, where the interest groups and relations are more intertwined than in any other Romanian party."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Crime, » Justice, » Romania
Romania's church sets false priorities
The Romanian Orthodox Church wants to build its Cathedral of the Redeemer 120 meters high. But as it lacks the money to start construction it has asked the Romanian parliament for a cash injection of five million euros. The daily România Liberă takes a dim view of the idea: "It is difficult to say how many priests or seminarians are deigning to accept considerable bribes to solve diverse worldly matters. ... These matters are not notable for their transparency. ... Over and above the official statements, we have no way of knowing what sort of sinful relations are being contracted between the Church and the State. Everything happens in such a well-oiled fashion that Romanians are being betrayed twice over: as voters and as churchgoers. The Church is backward in all of these matters, but now it has missed a big chance from which we all could have benefited. It could really have done something for the redemption and the development of the Romanian society if it had put these enormous sums into a huge nationwide social project."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Architecture / Cities, » Religion, » Society, » Romania
Romania should integrate the Roma
The French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Pierre Lellouche, said on Tuesday that Romania will jeopardise its accession to the Schengen Area planned for March 2011 if it fails to do more to integrate the Roma population. Many Roma are currently leaving Romania for France and Italy. Laurentiu Mihu welcomes Lellouche's announcement in the daily România Liberă: "Responsibility ... must first and foremost be borne by the Romanian state. Instead of solving its problems it has chosen the most simple and cynical solution for the past 20 years: exporting them. I'm certain that many decision makers in Bucharest were unofficially delighted that crime in their own country was moving abroad. ... In contrast to Italy, France has now brought Romania to its senses with a decisive 'European' instrument: barred access to the Schengen Area. Even if it doesn't look that way, this cold shower could help us to do the right thing."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Migration, » Integration, » Minorities, » France, » Romania
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