Romania: Press review - February 26.
Bucharest, Feb 26 /Agerpres/ - Romania's national dailies of Friday give main coverage to the administration of publicity on European funds; individual and corporate loan overdue payments surging in January; Romanian Government's expectations that the private sector will create new jobs; an honourable performance by Unirea Urziceni football team in a Europa League match against FC Liverpool.
Jurnalul national remarks that Prime Minister Boc has made himself into an inspector of advertising funded by European grants, asking that each such contract should be submitted to him for signature, although the funding is part of the mechanisms approved by the European Commission.
The paper explains that under a decision of the Romanian Government, the country's public administrations are banned from making publicity for themselves. If there is any such project qualifying for European funding, Prime Minister Boc will have to decide personally if the project is worth promoting. In other words, Boc will personally censor what the European Commission has already decided to fund.
Ziarul financiar notes that Prime Minister Boc claims any time he can that he has disbanded 112 governmental agencies, yet the tally does not add up to more than 53. The same is true for state secretaries: instead of being 30 state secretaries - two per each minister - there are 54 in all.
The paper says Prime Minister Boc three months ago announced having disbanded 112 governmental agencies and effected 1 billion euro in savings for the Government as the revenues of the agencies were taken over by the Government. Yet, the paper adds, how the restructuring was performed remains a mystery. 'I have disbanded 112 agencies and brought 1 billion euro from the agencies to the Government budget, and this money has not been discretionarily spent any more,' Boc claimed last November in a televised show in the week that a decision to restructure governmental agencies passed.
Curentul reports that loan delinquencies stated in the local currency, the leu (RON) of individuals and corporations increased by 6.45 percent in January 2010 to RON 4.62 billion (1.12 billion euros), while the overdue payments in foreign currency surged 19.7 percent to RON 4.15 billion (nearly 1 billion euros). As of end-2009, RON overdue payments were standing at RON 4.34 billion and the forex overdue payments at RON 3.47 billion.
The total volume of personal loans as of end-January 2010 was RON 200.49 billion (48.66 billion euros). RON-denominated loans made up 40 percent of the loans and the forex-denominated ones 60 percent.
The CFR national passenger railway carrier could increase its fares by 15 percent this summer, Evenimentul zilei quotes CFR sources as saying and explaining that the previous fare rises performed by CFR were in 2007. 'CFR Calatori has started the procedure to be approved a rise in fares allowed by the legislation in force because of rising costs and the inflation. If the rise is approved, it will come into effect this summer,' the sources told the paper. The rise in fares requires approval from the Competition Council, the Finance Ministry and the Transport Ministry.
The previous fare rise occurred in September 2007, when fares went up 8.1 percent.
Curentul quotes Health Minister Cseke Attila as having said on Thursday after meeting officials of the Sanitas Trade Union Federation of the medical staff that there is no talk of making medical staff redundant because there are many medical specialties that are still uncovered, but an analysis of the administrative staff will be carried out.
Ziarul financiar remarks that the Government is counting on the private sector exclusively to create new jobs in 2010.
The exemption from the social security contributions extended to the companies placing employees on short-time working and those hiring people - two of the main measures taken by the Government to protect jobs and boost job creation - is almost exclusively devised for the private employers, who performed most of the redundancies in 2009.
Hundreds of people, most of them elderly, on Thursday overcrowded the Sun Plaza, the largest shopping mall in Bucharest, to attend its opening, the papers report. The compulsory behaviour of Romanians has earned them the fame of big consumers, Evenimentul zilei notes, saying Romanians are waiting in lines since early night waiting for promotion sales that will satisfy their needs. Psychologists are ascribing the overcrowding at the first hour of business to the people's need for new things. The opening of the new shopping mall was perceived as a free social event, thanks to the marketing strategy, and was lived out as thus.
FC Liverpool defeated Unirea Urziceni 3-1 (2-1) on Thursday evening in Bucharest, in a round of 32, 2nd leg Europa League match.
The score was much too severe for the difference on the turf, where Liverpool displayed more pragmatism, besides its higher value, the papers comment. The match ended to the applause of the spectators for the game on the turf and for the famous English fans.
The papers also note that Unirea Urziceni, currently Romania's football champion, ended honourably a European adventure with an 8-point tally in Europa League, a performance that has exceeded expectations by much. AGERPRES
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