Anti-Western forces in Romania

There are plans for Romania to be included in the new US missile defence system, but the parliament must first give its approval. The daily România Liberă says that owing to anti-Western attitudes the vote will by no means be unanimously in favour: "In Romania there are still political and economic forces that feel uncomfortable about the influence of the EU, the rules from Brussels and any kind of US presence in the country. There are plenty of business people among them who have close ties to politics and the media, who hinder reform and who crave not legal security but power. Those who became rich during the long transition period are not pro-Western in their orientation. Their financial success stems from the times when Romania was in a grey zone, when laws changed constantly and the state could be milked like a cow. For those capitalists who know how to do business with the state ... and know which ministry you need to be friendly with to buy cheap and sell expensive, any step that brings Romania closer to the West is dangerous."

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