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What the newspapers say: April 24, 2009

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There are cases when the judicial system actually seems to work, one newspaper reads on Friday. Elsewhere in the news, Romania lost 1 billion euro by low taxes on state gas and oil. Last but not least, Romanian President Traian Basescu will attend the Hungarian Democratic Party Congress on April 25.

Cotidianul reads that the judicial system can actually prove efficient: a one day trial to increase salaries of magistrates. Over 40 judges from Craiova, South Romania won salary benefits in a record trial that lasted one day.

On April 13, 2009 over 40 judges across the court’s jurisdiction won unpaid salary benefits for risk and intellectual overburden of 50%. The trial had only one meeting, on April 13 and the request was registered on April 10, three days earlier. The paper notes that Craiova’s Appellate Court is the second biggest in Romania in terms of workload after Bucharest.

Plus, judges from Craiova did not have any problem to sue the Justice ministry to obtain these benefits at the court where they actually work and is run by one of the solicitors, Costel Dragut. Contacted by the newspaper, Dragut declared that he has no idea about this trial because he was on leave.

Moreover, he did not wish to comment upon the paradox that those under his subordination had to rule in a trial where their boss was one of the solicitors.

Gandul explains how Romania lost 1 billion euro by selling its state oil and gas very cheap. The paper reads that, compared to the EU, Romania’s oil and gas charges are two times lower. Thus, after a calculus the paper concludes that, in four years, Romania lost 1 billion euro which could have been easily gained if Romania would have charged at the EU level.

According to Eurostat, in some cases state revenues from oil and gas amount to 20-30% and in some cases, as in Great Britain to even 50%. Starting 2002, Romania claimed a 3.5-13.5% tax of the total production value. Due to privatization contracts, charges can only be modified in 2014.

However, the newspaper reads that it will be too late because gas and oil reserves will probably end. The paper reads that the internal gas and oil production drops every year. This year, the estimates are 10,792 million cubic meters compared to 12, 320 cubic meters in 2006.

Last but not least, Romania’s President Traian Basescu will attend the Hungarian Democratic Party Congress, Cotidianul reads quoting Cluj Mayor Sorin Apostu. Moreover, Apostu declared that Basescu will attend the Congress at the invitation of the party leaders.

UDMR Cluj leader Laszlo Attila declared for the newspaper that both the President and the Prime Minister were invited at the Congress and confirmed their presence. However, Attila did not wish to speculate whether this is the President’s attempt to fix his relation with Hungarian Democratic leaders whom he irritated in the last year.

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