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Avram, Liviu
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4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Only Băsescu's resignation can calm Romanians
The Romanian President Traian Băsescu, who has remained practically silent on events in his country since the start of the protests on January 12, has announced he will make a statement today, Wednesday. The liberal-conservative daily Adevărul hopes the president will step down: "The government, the opposition and the people seem to be heading in three entirely different directions. ... The government seems to focus on the small number of demonstrators, whom it tries to appease with tidbits. The oppositions profits from the fact that the protesters have no leader. ... They simply adopt the slogans that suit them, like "Down with [Prime Minister] Boc", "Down with Băsescu!", but not the vehement call for a thorough purging of the political class. The only one who remains silent is President Băsescu. But he too must pay his dues, in his case with his two remaining years in office. ... Such an agreement could once more get Romanians back to the polling booths."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Unrest / Riots, » Romania
Romanian judiciary must assume responsibility
The EU Commission presents its progress report for Romania and Bulgaria on Wednesday. Several EU countries want the results to determine whether the two states join the Schengen Area. According to Romanian media reports, the EU Commission will set the Romanian judiciary 19 tasks to be completed within a year. The daily Adevărul welcomes this: "The report repeatedly mentions the key concept of the 'responsibility' of the judicial system. And it's time the system assumed that responsibility. After a decade of Brussels fervently demanding the independence of the judiciary the time has come for that very same Brussels to stick to that concept of independence, coupled, however, with responsibility. The judges have been given so much independence in the past that they can justify anything - even the exact opposite of it. A mechanism is lacking to hold them responsible for what they write in their judgements. ... This can't go on like this. But apparently we needed someone else to come along and tell us this."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Justice, » Europe, » Romania
Romania plans to tax fast food
Romania wants to make eating fast food more expensive: Health Minister Attila Cseke has announced a tax on uhealthy food. According to estimates by the Romanian Society of Nutrition, one in four Romanians suffers from obesity. But the only result of this tax will be higher public revenues, writes the daily Adevărul: "It would be naive to believe our good minister when he says that this tax will prompt people to eat more healthily. A quick glance at other taxes is ample proof of that. Does anyone know how much cigarette smoking or alcohol consumption went down once they were more heavily taxed? No, because not even [former health minister] Eugen Nicolăescu, who introduced the new tax, could care less about that. The taxes were just wrapped in sugary talk about healthy living. It must be said however that Eugen Nicolăescu was a bit more honest about the use of these tax revenues. They were meant to finance a programme for assessing the state of public health. ... It cost 300 million euros and came to a dead-end somewhere or other. ... The programme was discontinued but the tax still exists."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Health Policy, » Economic Policy, » Romania
Romanian constitution is poorly formulated
Since the collapse of the Romanian government last week politicians have been scrutinising the country's constitution. But according to the daily Adevărul the constitution is a dubious source of wisdom in the present situation: "The most important law is badly written to the point of irrelevance, while its spirit remains strictly a matter of interpretation in which any claim can be matched by its contrary. A cynical approach can help to understand what is happening now. The constitution says the following on the dissolution of parliament by the president: … 'The President of Romania can dissolve the Parliament if within 60 days of the first formation of a government and only after the rejection of at least two formations of government it has still not reached a decision on the formation of a government.' …The key word in the constitutional text is the word 'can'. The president can. But he is by no means under any obligation to dissolve the parliament if the two prerequisites have been fulfilled."
» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Romania
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