National Press Review, 11 May

‘The government can no longer subsidize heat’, the România Liberă reads.

As agreed with the IMF, by the end of the year, the state will cut off the aids given to the cities for heat.

This is how, the prices paid by Romanians for heat are likely to increase starting next winter with up to 60 percent. Those with low incomes could possibly still receive the aids.

‘Price increases after IMF’, headlines the Jurnalul Naţional as well, and announces that ‘prices will rise in the next period of time for bread, medicines, hot water, Gcal, natural gas and electricity’.

In the Evenimentul Zilei we find out that the IMF has also recommended the authorities to lure back Romanians who left abroad, in order to help the economy grow.

The Head of the Fund’s delegation, Jefrey Francks, believes that Romania needs the reform both at the level of official institutions and mentality.

For instance, the economy would get a fresh breath of air and budgetary revenues would increase if the decision to merge taxes and fees would be taken.

In addition, corruption is a big problem, and to combat we need simple, transparent rules.

On turn, the representative of the World Bank stated that in Romania ‘the reforms were crisis-conducted and not a result of a strategic development plan’, the Evenimentul Zilei also reads.

‘We got out of recession with smaller incomes and bigger prices’, the Adevărul headlines.

‘The business of industrialists, exporters and service providers came on profit in the first three months of this year, but the population’s purchasing power decreased dramatically.

The decrease by over 10 percent of food consumption and the huge price increases in the first quarter of this year shows how Romania is coming out of the statistic recession’ – the quoted newspaper comments on the data reported yesterday by the National Institute for Statistics.

The Jurnalul Naţional reveals on the front page, I quote: ‘the ticks of the Romanian post’.

Elena Udrea imposed her personal advisor, Sorin Munteanu, to the Board of Post Directors.

The newspaper is making an inventory of damaging contracts which let the Romanian Post to bankruptcy: around 200 of them, gathered during the last years.

‘To ensure the devaluation of the companies as soon as possible, political leaderships who have administered during the past few years the faiths of thousands of mailpersons managed to ruin the company, breaking it into pieces under the pretext of economical efficiency.

After having lost 70 million euros in the past two years, the leadership is giving mailpersons discharges and wage cuts as presents’, the Jurnalul Naţional underlines.

‘Convicted twice: both by their sickness and by the system’ – we read on the front page of the Adevărul.

Those are many cancer patients who were left without treatment after the chance in the way they can purchase the medication.

Starting 1 April, cancer patients can only buy their medicines at hospital’s pharmacies.

Many of them are however empty.

In Romania there are over 98 000 cancer patients.

The patients state the stock of medicines should have been provided for the hospitals’ pharmacies before this decision was implemented.

The representatives of the Health Ministry say that there are enough money for this and the national anti-cancer program has received funds to last until the end of the year.

Finally, an example to follow, given by the România Liberă: ‘Turkey, the vegetables garden of Romania’.

Whole hectares of greenhouses, business driven by clear strategies, an organized, and scientifically-coordinated work, logistics at the highest level to follow-up on production and sales – this is what Romanian journalists found out during the visit to Turkish farms.

The Antalya region alone exports every year vegetables worth of over a billion dollars, and many of them end up on our tables.

Translated by: Manuela Stancu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University