What the newspapers say: January 23, 2008

The tax supposed to protect the Romanian market from an invasion of second-hand cars became a tax able to protect the road-grannies. Instead, taxes for new cars will grow up to four times. Meanwhile, new sad records are registered in car crashed on Romanian roads.

In the economy, things are far from fine. With a free-falling national currency, the only hope is the recovery of the American market. The only people still enjoying living in Romania are, as usual, politicians, who found out how they can earn three million euro in less than an year.

The car tax that caused a series of tensions between Romani and the European Union finally came into a shape approved by EU officials. The registration of new cars will cost up to four times as much as it does today, the cost decreasing proportionally with its age and mileage, in case the model is part of the same pollution class, Gandul informs.

Cotidianul opens the edition today with an inciting title: How to make three million euro in nine months. And no, it is not about winning the lottery. Deputy Niculae Badalau took advantage on a tip offered by the local administration in the county Giurgiu, invested his 12,000 euro in a piece of land outside the city, turned it into an urban real estate terrain and sold it for three million euro. He even managed to involve his wife in the deal, in a manner designed to allow him avoid taxes worth some 570,000 euro, the newspaper informs.

Abroad, the only thing that takes Romania to the main pages is the Nokia scandal. Evenimentul Zilei describes the protests of 4,300 Germans, upset with the mobile phone producer’s decision to leave the city of Bochum and move to Romania. Although admitting that Nokia contributed to the local economy, the Germans use expressions like „The Nokia vampire is not content. Dracula feeds him more blood”.

A new negative record was established on Romanian roads in 2007, with 8,397 serious accident taking place and a total of 2,775 victims and 6,984 seriously injured persons, same Evenimentul Zilei informs.