National Press Review, 12 December

The România Liberă writes "Austerity is the official policy of Europe".

The newspaper writes that "the historic meeting of the heads of state and government of the EU countries on Thursday in Brussels, the German discipline enshrined the expansion across continental Europe and the formalization of the austerity policy".

However, the România Liberă reviews the new intergovernmental agreement that has to be signed within the summit in March next year and provides that by the end of 2012 the signatory states have to amend their constitution so as to assume the deficit and debt limitation.

The same topic is approached by the Evenimetul Zilei, which quotes President Traian Băsescu, according to who in Romania taxes will remain unchanged, even if Brussels impose strict budgetary and fiscal rules.

The Adevărul also publishes the agreement in Brussels in terms of internal discussions on changing the Constitution.

The newspaper quotes both representatives of power and opposition, which stated their view on the subject, and reveals how much Romania will borrow next year to cover debt and deficit.

The Curierul Naţional announces "2012 will be a difficult year for state companies".

The article listes the obligations which the Government has to meet in Bucharest, following agreement with the IMF, including speeding up privatization of the Romanian Post and of the Electric Factory Bucharest society.

"The letter of intent agreed by the Executive Board with the IMF at the last negotiations, the Romanian authorities must select an investment bank and publish the prospectus for privatisation by mid February, so that the procedures are completed by the end of April 2012."

The Jurnalul Naţional writes "Old trains with new names", explaining in the subtitle "From staff and the accelerated to regional and interregional ".

The newspaper gives details about the new train schedule, which came into force yesterday, and shows features of the train categories related to speed, number of stops and convenience.

Translated by: Iulia Florescu

MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University