Romania’s President Basescu again slams the judiciary system

President Traian Basescu once again criticised the magistrates who allow judicial information to leak to the media, and the judges and police officers who have “inappropriate” connections with the organised crime.

During a meeting on Wednesday with the judges and prosecutors who passed the exam organised by the Superior Council of Magistrates, the President stated that there were too many criminal cases which have been inadequately put together by prosecutors and deliberately delayed by judges.

“There are cases in which judges have inappropriate ties to organised crime milieu. Prosecutors and police officers have the same sort of connections. I know this is a festive day, but this is not to mean that I am not entitled to tell you that these are things that make the Romanian justice system not credible enough. You are often required to judge or investigate people whose positions are a lot higher than yours, which put you at a disadvantage,” the Head of State told the magistrates present at the Cotroceni Palace.

On the other hand, Prosecutor General of Romania, Laura Codruta Kovesi warned the magistrates appointed to office by Traian Basescu that they will have to cope with legislative inconsistencies and the distrust of the society.

Italian Govt to ignore EU fingerprint vote

Rome - Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said Thursday that Italy would continue to take fingerprints during a government census of gypsy camps despite a European Parliament (EP) recommendation to stop.

Maroni said he was ''outraged'' by the non-binding EP resolution on Thursday, which called on Italy to abstain from collecting fingerprints or using those already collected ahead of a full evaluation of the measures by the European Commission (EC).

The EP motion, tabled by a group of left-wing Italian MEPs, held that fingerprinting adults and children in gypsy camps discriminates against race and ethnicity.

It was passed by 336 votes to 220, with 77 abstentions.

But Maroni said the recommendation was based on ''false suppositions'' and that the government plan to deal with gypsy camps was ''a battle for civility''.

''The Italian government will go ahead to the bitter end, in full and complete agreement with the European Commission,'' he said.

''Our aim is to put an end to the disgrace of nomad camps, which are worse than (Brazilian shanty-town) favelas.

''We want to create authorised, controlled camps where people can live in Italy in a dignified manner,'' added the minister, who says fingerprinting will help fight crime and identify illegal immigrants. Maroni received support from EU Affairs Minister Andrea Ronchi, who referred to the EP vote as ''one of the worst pages in the history of European institutions''.

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said EP accusations of racism against the Italian government were ''totally unfounded'' and ''motivated by politics rather than any substance''.

''The EP adopted this resolution without waiting for the EC to begin their evaluation, which means they had no interest in hearing whether the measure is compatible with European law. For that reason I am not remotely embarrassed to defend this measure,'' said the former EU Justice Commissioner.

Opposition politicians praised the EP vote, which Shadow Interior Minister Marco Minniti described as ''confirming all of our doubts'' about the ''hateful discrimination'' of fingerprint collection. ''It's an important decision even if it's not binding,'' said Senate Deputy Speaker Emma Bonino of the Radical Party. ''We hope that this vote will help convince some mayors and the Interior Minister (Roberto Maroni) to change their minds,'' she said.

Italian sources say that, in a bid to avoid racist accusations, the fingerprint census would cover all citizens now living in Italy – while the Gypsy (Roma ethnics) fingerprinting would start first, only because it represent an urgent matter of public security.

EC TO RECEIVE CENSUS REPORT BY END OF JULY

European Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot on Thursday told the EP that Italy would send a full report on measures adopted for the gypsy census by the end of July.

Barrot pledged to collect all information on ''the purpose (of fingerprinting), the legal basis, how they will be preserved and if they will be used for other ends''.

The commissioner also said he had asked for particular clarification on the treatment of minors under the age of 14 and on the situation in the 17 Italian regions not involved in the government's current emergency plan.

So far, the city prefects of Milan, Naples and Rome charged with overseeing the census have taken different approaches to fingerprinting.

In Naples and Milan, where the census is already under way, fingerprints have only been taken from minors between the ages of 14 and 18 in Naples camps.

Milan prefect Gian Valerio Lombardi said fingerprinting will only be used in cases where gypsies refused to identify themselves.

Rome prefect Carlo Mosca said he had ruled out fingerprinting altogether but would require photos of gypsies who refused to identify themselves when the census starts in the capital next week.

In the wake of concerns over public safety, Maroni has pledged to dismantle all illegal camps as well as authorised camps that do not have adequate facilities.

Government plans also call for the expulsion of any immigrant found to be in Italy without the correct paperwork.

The vast majority of the 152,000 gypsies supposed to live in Italy are of Romanian origin, while a small percentage come from the Balkans.

Romania's leu hits the year's high of 3.5350 versus the euro, following regional trend

Romania's national currency, the leu, advanced to 3.5350 against the single European currency at the end of the day, continuing increasing trend to the highest peak this year, owing to investors' higher appetite for risk.

The leu climbed from 3.56 to 3.52 versus the euro this morning and then started to lose ground. Banks bought the euro with 3.5355 lei and sold it for 3.5415 lei at 5:15 p.m. (Bucharest time).

The reference exchange rate posted today by Romania's Central Bank (BNR) shows a 1.39 percent growth of the leu against the euro to 3.5434 and a 1.2 percent increase against the U.S. dollar to 2.2585.

On the international markets, the U.S. dollar dropped from 1.5651 to 1.5744 versus the euro. At 5:20 p.m. Romania's hour, the euro traded at 1.5728 U.S. dollars.

Interbank interests for overnight deposits stood close to the monetary policy rate set by the central bank at 10 percent per year.

Secret police shot at Romanian protesters back in 1989, court documents show

Bucharest - Romania's secret police (‘Securitate’), and not the army, fired on demonstrators during the revolt that toppled dictator Nicolae Ceausescu nearly two decades ago, court documents showed Wednesday. A previously unpublished defence ministry report released by the country's top court described how uniformed ‘Securitate’ members had infiltrated army ranks and opened fire during the protests.

The diary-like description of events covered the period from December 16-22, 1989 when more than 1,000 people died during anti- Ceausescu protests in Bucharest and other cities.

Exact details of events leading up to the dictator's downfall have never been fully disclosed.

Publication of the document was requested by lawyers for former defence minister Victor Atanasie Stanculescu and top army commander Mihai Chitac.

The two men are appealing their conviction and 15-year sentence for ordering the army to fire on demonstrators.

The worst clashes occurred in the west Romanian town of Timisoara to where Caeusescu dispatched Stanculescu with orders to put down the revolt.

Shortly after Ceausescu disappeared on December 22, 1989, it was revealed that the defence minister had joined the rebels, although it was not clear exactly when he changed sides.

Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were sentenced to death by a military court and executed on December 25, 1989.

Romanian Nabucco segment to be extended 25-year exemption from gas transmission pricing requirements

The National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) has approved a request by the Nabucco International Company (NIC) that the Romanian segment of the Nabucco gas pipeline be exempted from pricing requirements applicable to gas transmission and also from the provisions concerning access of third parties to transmission networks, reads a release issued by ANRE.

The exemption should be 25 years counted from the date when the first segment of Nabucco becomes operational.

For the Romanian segment, the rules concerning access of third parties to the Nabucco gas pipeline as well as taxation will be drawn up by NIC and submitted to the ANRE for approval.

NIC will have to extend equal and non-discriminatory access to all users to the gas pipeline.

The exemptions have been approved conditional upon observance of some conditions, such as the revision of pricing methods 20 years after the first Nabucco segment becomes operational, the company conducting a public offer to contract out the pipeline’s capabilities before commencement of construction works on the pipeline, preventing instances in which any of the shareholder in NIC would get to win a dominant position on the internal market, and designing a pricing system for the pipeline’s users that will range within 10% of the European averages charged under similar projects.

The exemptions will be limited to at most 50% of the total annual capacity technically available.

The exemption will be cancelled if the Romanian segment fails to be commissioned within five years after the European Commission approves a decision to grant the exemptions to all the four EU member states that the Nabucco gas pipeline will cross, but no later than December 31, 2014.

Transmitted through the Nabucco pipeline will be natural gas from Asia to Austria, via Turkey, Romania and Hungary.

In keeping with the provisions of the Romanian legislation and the European directive concerning the common European market in natural gas, the exemption decision will be submitted to the European Commission for consideration.

Officials of five companies - OMV of Austria, Botas of Turkey, Mol of Hungary, Transgaz of Romania and Bulgargaz of Bulgaria - making up the NIC and officials of Germany’s RWE utility early this February signed in Vienna an agreement on making RWE the sixth business partner in the project.

The World's Most Corrupt Countries

Corruption continues to intensify in two-fifths of the world's nations, nurtured by persistent poverty, political instability and crime.

In percentage terms, the number of countries perceived to be corrupt fell slightly, according to recent surveys by Transparency International, an international watchdog group, ‘Forbes’ reports today.

Of the 180 countries looked at in its most recent rankings, 132 had index scores below 5, including Greece, India, Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. Some 56 countries were rated below 3, a level that indicates rampant corruption, including Argentina, Pakistan and Russia.

Transparency International developed its index on a scale from 0 to 10, with the lowest number indicating the highest perception of corruption. The index is based on worldwide surveys of country specialists, business officials, human rights monitors and others.

For the most recent index, the best-scoring countries were New Zealand, Denmark and Finland, sharing an index ranking of 9.4. At the bottom of the heap, where perceptions of corruption were highest, Somalia and Myanmar are tied with an index ranking of 1.4.

[…] many countries that improved over the year are in Eastern Europe: Croatia (to 64 from 69), the Czech Republic (to 41 from 46), Macedonia (to 84 from 105) and Romania (up to 69 from 84). Italy went to 41 from 45.

"The concentration of gainers in Southeast and Eastern Europe testifies to the galvanizing effect of the European Union accession process on the fight against corruption," says Transparency International.

Transylvania, among first five tourist destinations in Europe recommended by USA Today

Saxon citadel of Sighisoara (Romania’s province of Transylvania)

Tourist attractions in Transylvania, center of Romania, are among the top holiday destinations in Europe that the renowned site USA Today recommends to American tourists. With all prices going up, and the dollar down, USA Today has intended to make a classification of the most beautiful tourist destinations in Europe accessible to American commoners.

Unlike Romanians, who believe their country has become expensive for tourists, the Americans say in their analysis that Transylvania, at least, offers reasonable prices to its visitors. Tourist attractions in Transylvania would be wild landscapes, probably the last rural areas in the continent with a medieval life style and with old traditions, cities and towns full of the culture and civilization of South-Eastern Europe.

Tourists are advised to start from the city of Brasov, full of history and medieval buildings, including churches and strongholds, to go by cabin to Tampa, wherefrom they have a splendid view of the city and of the mountains. The next location could be Bran Castle, known as the Castle of Dracula. It perfectly suits the Hollywood ideal of the castle of vampires, it has even been filmed for movies about Dracula.

Tourists can also go to Sighisoara. One of the best conserved medieval cities in Europe, it is part of UNESCO World Heritage. Visitors can also go to Sibiu, which was the European Capital of Culture in 2007.

Transylvania is presented fourth in the tourist attractions in USA Today, the other four are, in this order, attractions from Bulgaria, Berlin, Turquoise Coast in Turkey, and Moravia region in the Czech Republic.

Romania – EU Update

Romanians rank first in terms of positive perception of EU image

Romania ranks first among the European Union (EU) member states in terms of positive perception of the EU image, with 67% of the Romanians having expressed a favourable opinion of the European body, shows the Eurobarometer 69 study conducted over March – May 2008 and released on June 24.

Raking second after Romania, with 65% positive opinions was Ireland, that is a country which had not so long ago rejected the Treaty of Lisbon.While considering the European Union as a whole, 48% of the body’s citizens said they have a positive image about the Union, 35% said they have a neutral image and 15% a negative one.


Romania has to get involved in EU’s decision-making process as regards development funds

Romania has to benefit by the fact that, as EU member state, gets involved, together with the European Commission, in the decision-making process referring to the way of spending the European development funds, head of the Director General for Development of the European Commission Stefano Manservisi said.

At a debate on "Romania - active actor in EU’s foreign action", Manservisi said that the country has to combine its involvement in the field of granting support for development at a bilateral level (5 million euros in 2007) with that that made through the funds that contribute to the EU budget for development (80 million euros in 2007).

Manservisi said that Romania also has other advantages to offer, besides the simple financial help, such as its political and economic experience gathered during the transition process from totalitarianism to democracy, the state of law, the efforts deployed to increase the financial assistance level, the experience of the collaboration with the neighbouring countries (such as Serbia).

"It is, after all, in our best interest, in the best interest of all Europeans, to have stable and peaceful partners all over the world, trustful political allies and prosperous clients," Manservisi said, adding that "investing in development means investing in our own future."

The EC official has been paying a visit to Romania ahead of a delegation of community government representatives. On June 25 he met ForMin Lazar Comanescu, Finance Minister Varujan Vosganian, chief of the PM’s cabinet Mihnea Constantinescu, state secretary for foreign trade Stefan Imre and other officials.


EU decision to slash some pesticides in use puts Romanian farmers at disadvantage

The decision of EU Ministers of Agriculture to have certain pesticides removed from the market puts Romanian farmers at disadvantage because it would result in the marketing of products considered safer, but which are also more expensive, driving production costs significantly higher.

Alongside another three member states, Romania abstained from voting on ground that the new regulation is too harsh and will request a three to four-year transition period for the enforcement of this law.

The Council of EU Ministers of Agriculture held in Luxembourg approved a bill banning the use of at least 70 pct of the pesticides that are currently on the market, especially of those that might pose a cancer hazard.

Minister of Agriculture Dacian Ciolos said that Romania could adjust to the new requirements only if given a three to four-year transition period and said he will negotiate this aspect with representatives of the other member states.

On the other hand, farmers claim the ban on a substantial part of pesticides currently in use could have disastrous effects on Romanian agriculture.

President of the National Federation of Agriculture Producers Viorel Matei says small subsidizes and high fuel prices, to which more expensive pesticides might add now, could leave many farmers broke.

The adopted bill will go back to the European Parliament to be discussed in a plenary meeting, most probably in autumn.

MFI heir to create wild species haven in Romania

July 6, 2008 – After plans for wolves in the Scottish Highlands were thwarted, Paul Lister has set his sights on a Carpathian reserve.
A businessman whose plans to reintroduce wolves, bears and wild cats to the Scottish Highlands were thwarted by officialdom has turned to Romania to fulfil his dream.

Paul Lister, heir to the MFI furniture fortune and owner of the 23,000-acre Alladale estate near Inverness, is to turn thousands of acres of ancient forestry in the Carpathian mountains into a haven for wild species.

The mountains are home to 5,000 brown bears, 3,000 wolves and 2,000 lynx — Europe’s largest populations — which are threatened by the rapid expansion of industrial logging operations. Lister, who has worked with the Carpathian Wolf Sanctuary for more than a decade, has created a charitable body, the European Nature Trust, to establish the nature reserve.

Trees and wildlife will be protected by rangers, aided by aerial surveillance, and roads and tracks used by unscrupulous logging gangs will be removed. Visitors will be able to camp or stay in lodges, and go on organised trails to see the “big five” — brown bears, wolves, lynx, wild boar and red deer — in the wild.

Though 16% of the region is under some form of protection, the vast majority is threatened by logging, hunting and development. Lister has turned to the area — which contains a third of Europe’s plant species — after spending five years in a fruitless effort to reintroduce wolves and bears to Scotland for the first time since the 18th century.

Last year he imported a pair of moose from Sweden and already has a breeding population of wild boar on his estate. But his efforts have been frustrated by government red tape and complaints from neighbouring farmers, who fear escaped wolves would kill livestock.

He has been told he must submit a full application to Michael Russell, the environment minister, who would ultimately decide whether to grant a licence to reintroduce wolves under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. The proposal would be subject to a public consultation, likely to take up to a year, followed by possible appeals.

To satisfy the legislation he would need an area of almost 50,000 acres to house 15 wolves, three pairs of lynx and up to 30 brown bears, which would require the co-operation of neighbouring landowners.

Plans for a three-metre-high electric fence around his estate — which would be the longest in Europe — would fall foul of Scottish Natural Heritage, the government conservation body, which has said that it would breach land reform legislation.

“We are still negotiating with our neighbours. It’s a long slog but it’s a case of people changing their mind-set,” said Lister. “I still believe it can happen but if we can’t bring back the wolf, it won’t be the end of the world.

“Romania and the Carpathian mountains have some of the largest tracts of old-growth forests remaining in Europe. These great woods, which are rich in biodiversity, are under threat from illegal logging, not only on private lands but also within national parks.

“We have a wilderness on our doorstep which is Europe’s equivalent of Yellowstone Park but it’s under threat. We need to raise awareness of this and I will absolutely have to take this to the EU. We need to keep these wild spaces, not just for our own benefit but for that of future generations.”

According to legend, the last British wolf was killed in the Scottish Highlands in 1743. Last week opponents to Lister’s Highland plans welcomed his “change of focus”.

“Scotland isn’t ready for wolves and we have always thought that Lister was ahead of the game,” said Ian McCall of the Ramblers’ Association. “We have had concerns about the fencing and access issues.
Perhaps in Romania, where wolves are in the wild, he can achieve more.”

A spokesman for the Scottish government said: “Mr Russell is not persuaded of the merits of reintroducing the wolf. There are a number of very serious issues which would need to be addressed in full for any such application to be looked at.”

Lister’s bid to create his Highland wildlife reserve will feature in a BBC documentary, The Real Monarch of the Glen, which begins tomorrow.

Source: The Sunday Times