National Press Review, 11 January

The Evenimentul Zilei writes “The revolution man in the Emergency department, with upsides and downsides”, making reference to Raed Arafat who resigned as Undersecretary of State within the Ministry of Health on Tuesday.

The newspaper claims that the man who has achieved excellence in the field of emergency medicine is now refusing to let the system be run by private companies, and is retiring in order to fight outside the Ministry.

In addition, the publication presents an early history of SMURD and a potential “coexistence recipe of state and private”, as seen from the perspective of the private ambulance system.
The România Liberă also tackles this topic and, after listing the reasons for Raed Arafat’s resignation, attempts to answer questions such as:”what will the beneficiaries of insurance have to gain from the privatisation of the health system?; will the expenditures paid by the state for emergency medicine decrease or why has the former Undersecretary of State opposed the new bill so strongly?”.

FMI’s observations concerning this field are noted as well, in addition to examples of other European states’ views on the emergency medical system.

The România Liberă also reveals “what teachers have got coming in 2012” and how they will able to occupy a teaching position".

The author of the article explains: “following the disastrous results at the 2011 competition”, this year will be the first one without an exam for tenure”. The article also presents the opinions of the unions and the education specialists regarding the new method of employing teachers.
The Jurnalul Naţional writes “Record fine for gasoline businessmen”.

The publication comments that “the agreement by which several oil companies from Romania have undertaken to jointly eliminate a type of gasoline has resulted in an 880 million lei fine from the Competition Council.

The article indicates the amount of money each respective company will have to pay, and states that they disagree with the verdict and intend to make an appeal in court.

Lastly, under the headline “Pimps with epaulets”, the Adevărul offers details on the corruption scandal involving possibly over thirty policemen from the Police Stations 1 and 3 in Bucharest.
Further information on the charges being brought to them, as well as on the method used for catching them can be found in the pages of the newspapers.

Translated by: Cristina Baciu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University