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Vijulie, Elena
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4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
EU funds disappear in Romanian swamp
The EU Commission on Tuesday put the money from the European Social Fund earmarked for Romania on ice after auditors pointed to irregularities in the state administration of project funds. Those who want to use the money for reasonable projects have no chance against organised corruption, writes Elena Vijulie in the blog portal Voxpublica: "The experts at the state agencies and authorities are afraid to address the failings. Some think that if they protest they will never receive the money for their projects. Others fear for their jobs. There is a direct link between the fears and silence of the project heads and other experts on the one hand and the incompetence, corruption and above all the maliciousness and blindness of their state bosses on the other. ... In other, more developed countries, five percent of project costs are generally charged as expenses. But here in Romania the bosses want the whole bundle, and even now - at the eleventh hour - they still believe they won't have to answer for their behaviour."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Europe, » Romania
Romanian PM confirmed despite empty seats
The Romanian parliament confirmed the cabinet of Prime Minister Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu on Thursday with the votes of the ruling coalition. The opposition for the most part boycotted the vote, with the Liberals even failing to turn up at all. But the voters don't like such radical gestures, writes Elena Vijulie on the blog portal Voxpublica: "True, people want radical change. But what [the leader of the Liberals] Crin Antonescu has obviously failed to understand is that Romanian politics can only change when the politicians stop doing radical politics or making radical gestures. The people want to go about their work and look after their families in peace. They want a good, predictable future, so they need predictable politicians. … Romanians want their politicians to think before they open their mouths. … This is why the people took to the streets and managed to persuade even the arrogant [ruling party] PDL to begin thinking about what it does."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Romania
An electoral fraud trial would end in chaos
The Social Democrats have lost Romania's presidential elections to the centrists by an extremely narrow margin. They are now voicing suspicions of electoral fraud and plan to contest the election results before the country's Constitutional Court. The daily România Liberă expresses surprise, noting that both parties have influenced voters repeatedly, and considers the move a dangerous one: "They have put all their eggs in one basket, without scruples. Both parties have discredited each other and thus the idea of a correct vote that meets European standards. All the rules were simply mixed into the Balkan mass of illegal compromises and local customs. … You're right, Mr Geoană: It is indeed 'a delicate moment for our country'. For two months now we have lacked a government. Impatiently we waited for the elections to finally have a premier. To contest the results before the Constitutional Court now would open the Pandora's box that would plunge Romania into chaos. A chaos much more dangerous than that which Traian Băsescu caused before the elections."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Romania
Condemning communism
With an eye to the planned recounting of votes in Moldava, Elena Vijulie gives an ascerbic description of communism and electoral fraud in the daily Romania Libera: "The communist regimes are experts in blending truth with lies. ... The OSCE election observers were overwhelmed with an array of charts and tables on the basis of which they pronounced the election correct. The Dutch journalist with whom I went to the emergency unit at the hospital asked a 19-year-old youth if he'd spoken with a lawyer and if he'd been allowed to call his parents from the police station. Yes, he said in French. Yes - he went on in Romanian - but only after he'd been so badly beaten about the head that he suffered a concussion. ... In view of the pain suffered by this young man who was so badly beaten by the police in Chişinău, the East European EU member states have the duty to sign the final document of the Cold War: a ban and condemnation of communism in the entire civilised world. The East European states know the face of the devil. Now [the rest of Europe] must classify it as such, alongside fascism."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU enlargement, » Europe, » Eastern Europe, » Western Europe, » Romania
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