Romanian press review

Bucharest, July 8 /Agerpres/ - The announcement made by the EU Council of Finance Ministers referring to the launch of the excessive deficit procedure in Romania's case, the effects of the crisis on economy and the stability of jobs, the consequences of the fiscal measures the Government took at the beginning of its term in office are the main subjects dealt with by the printed press on Wednesday, July 8.

'I swear to devote all my power and skill to the Romanian people's spiritual and material prosperity.' This is how the mandate of every minister of the Boc Cabinet began. The result six months later: an economic decline of at least 16 billion euros and a foreign public debt higher by 20 billion euros, this is the survey of the governance presented by daily Ziarul Financiar.

Here are a few subtitles: 'Varujan Vosganian Lost Control of Expenditure,' 'Tariceanu Wasted the Country's Money and Boosted Bureaucracy,' 'Premier Boc Makes Known No End of Plans, but All in Vain,' 'Gheorghe Pogea Goes Down in History for the Lump Sum Tax,' 'Radu Berceanu Carries Out Party Trade with Budget Positions,' 'Geoana Asked for Unsustainable Expenses in 2007 and 2008,' 'SME Minister Constantin Nita, an Example of Budget Eating Man,' 'Ilie Sarbu, Nothing Palpable for Six Months in Agriculture,' 'President Traian Basescu Is Responsible for the Failure of the Coalition,' 'Governor Mugur Isarescu Lags a Step behind Reality.'

The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) launched the excessive deficit procedure in Romania's case and asked Bucharest to fulfil the political pledges made through the agreement signed with the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund, the printed press on July 8 quotes European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Joaquin Almunia as saying on Tuesday. Ecofin set the date of January 7, 2010 as the deadline by which Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Poland have to take measures meant to correct budget deficits. 'Romania Risks Paying Fines if It Does not Reduce the Budget Deficit below 3 Percent by 2011,' is a title carried by Gardianul daily.

About 100,000 small and medium-sized enterprises risk going bankrupt this year because of the debts they have to the state, which do not allow them to access bank loans. 'There are more than 100,000 companies which have orders and which manage to carry out their activity but banks refuse to grant them any more loans because they have had debts to the state budget for one year,' read the newspapers on Tuesday.

Minister of Economy Adriean Videanu on Tuesday publicly criticized the minimum tax. According to him, the introduction of the minimum tax was an error made by the Government as the fiscal policy must stimulate not only collect money. 'The Government makes errors too. One such error was the lump sum tax. I am a supporter of a fiscal policy that should not only collect money but also stimulate economy,' daily Gardianul quotes Adriean Videanu as telling the Italy-Romania economic forum. His statement comes two months after the Democratic Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (PSD), both of them ruling parties, exchanged retorts because of the SME Minister Constantin Nita, who is a PSD member, who used to insist on saying that the Government made a mistake by instituting the tax on Romanian companies. In reply Premier Emil Boc said that the destiny of the minimum tax would depend on the examination the Government will make of the evolution of economy in the first six months of this year. 'Videanu Gets Rid of the Lump Sum Tax' is a title carried by Ziua daily and Gandul newspaper quotes the Minister of Economy 'Videanu: the Lump Sum Tax Is an Error.'

Former Minister of Agriculture Dacian Ciolos, 40, made a serious option for the position of future European commissioner on Romania's behalf after he came to be on a presidential commission at Cotroceni, reads daily Ziarul Financiar.

Ciolos has been accepted by Brussels for a position of director with the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development and is waiting to start his mandate in a few months.

'I am not going to be an adviser to the President, I have been appointed chairman of a new presidential commission on public policies and development of agriculture. I am not paid for such a position,' the above-mentioned newspaper quotes Dacian Ciolos as saying.

His name has been circulated for a longer time for the position of commissioner on Romania's behalf in the future European Commission. President Traian Basescu recently informed that Bucharest had been negotiating since winter for the position of commissioner on Romania's behalf and after a visit he paid to France, he said that it was preferable for Romania to get the portfolio of agriculture.

By being appointed at Cotroceni, Ciolos has more numerous chances and will be almost the winner in case Romania really gets the portfolio of agriculture, also reads the source mentioned before.

Every second Romanian company staffed with more than 50 people has this year resorted to dismissals in order to reduce the expense budget following the crisis. In the case of the small and medium-sized enterprises the percentage is lower, only 24 percent of them taking this step, reads a study made by Mercury Research. At the same time 13 percent of all the companies anticipate new staff cuts because of financial problems.

'The private sector has adapted to the crisis. In exchange the budgetary system is not stimulated to adapt. Perhaps it will reform when we, the companies, can no longer pay its salaries. The state will not be able to make no end of loans for these salaries,' daily Romania libera quotes Cristian Parvan, general secretary of the Businessmen's Association in Romania, as saying. Here are a few headlines on this subject: 'Hit by the Crisis, Half of the Big Companies Dismissed Some of Their Employees' (Gardianul), 'Crisis Decimates Private Companies, Budget Employees Survive' (Romania libera), 'Employers on Dismissals: It Can Be Even Worse' (Gandul).

The Child's Telephone has registered a record number of calls since the beginning of this year. The cases of abuse against minors, especially in the regions where poverty rules supreme, grow in number with every passing month. Since January till now this free phone number has been used 11,820 times in all, twice as much as in the similar time span last year. 'In 71 percent of cases child abusers are their parents,' reads the statistics of the Child's Telephone Association. The minors that are worst affected by abuses are the ones coming from poor families, but also the ones coming from families whose parents got a divorce or live separate lives, reads daily Curentul carrying the title 'The Line of the Child's Telephone Has Turned Hot with So Much Use.' AGERPRES

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