National Press Review May 7

“400 billion euro worth of extra money for wages and pensions. The price? A 2.2 per cent deficit”, ZIARUL FINANCIAR writes. Where will the money go? The increase in the wages of public employees can lead to a decrease both in the retirement and the health fund deficits. If it also provided an incentive for consumption, it would be an opportunity for the GDP to stay on the plus, because the export business will no longer help the economy considering the how things are looking in Europe. However, analysts estimate that people will save this money or at least use them to pay for due bank credits.

After two days of discussions, the terms of the new agreement concluded with the International Monetary Fund(IMF) have been established, but, according to Adevărul: “President Băsescu is being picky about the negotiations between Ponta and the Fund”. The President has stated that he supports the increase of wages “without any holdbacks”, but the payments should not affect the retirement fund deficit. If this problem comes up when the money deducted from pensioners are to be returned to them, the President warns us that he will not submit the letter of intention to the Parliament.

In Evenimentul Zilei, we read an interview with Romania’s representative at IMF, Mihai Tănăsescu. The reduction of the social security contributions or the V.A.T. will have to wait at least until 2013. The fiscal policy will remain unchanged for the following six months, Tănăsescu states.

“Depoliticisation and zero tolerance for favouritism”, Jurnalul National writes. The Ponta Government programme is facing the test of the Parliament today – seventeen chapters consisting of necessary measures for economic increase. Among the priorities: implementing a long-term strategy whose aim is to create jobs and protect the country’s resources.

România Liberă sees the new government programme differently: “How much of the promises of the Social Liberal Union is left in Ponta’s programme.” The strategy submitted to the Parliament clearly has no mention of objectives such as reducing the social security contributions or the V.A.T for certain basic products. It also does not refer to increasing the minimum wage, which was on the Ponta’s agenda for his first day as Prime Minister. However, the programmes conducted by the Democratic Liberal Party are preserved, including Elena Udrea’s programme which the leaders of the Social Liberal Union view as a waste of taxpayers’ money on political clientele.

Victor Ponta has lowered the flag in the plagiarism scandal related to Corina Dumitrescu, who had initially been proposed for the position of head of the Education, Evenimentul Zilei writes. The publication claims that they can provide evidence on the “Copy-Paste Ministry”, as she has been called by journalists. She stole sections which were no longer valid from another paper and inserted them into a book she claimed was a personal creation.

“The Health Bill is reinvigorated thanks to the new Ministry”, we read in Adevărul. The former State Secretary for Health, Vasile Cepoi, who is in charge of the reform, is exactly the person proposed for the position of Ministry, which creates a prerequisite for the successful passing of the bill. ADEVĂRUL provides an analysis on the most significant changes in the new bill.

Translated by:

Cristina Baciu, MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University