What the newspapers say: April 8, 2010

All pensions of the military personnel will be affected by the new pensions system: their pensions might drop by 19 to 69%. President Basescu purchased a Dacia Duster model, worth 71.016 RON. Most newspapers note that the Superior Council of Magistracy approved the arrest of judge Florin Costiniu, accused of traffic of influence in favor of a businessman – in the same file with Senator Catalin Voicu. Elsewhere in the news, Romanian military Eugen Bida was wounded yesterday morning in Afghanistan.

Cotidianul reads on Thursday that all pensions of the military personnel are in danger to decrease up to 69%. All military pensions can be affected by the new law of the unique pensions law, a document of the Defense ministry reveals, published by the Romanian news agency NewsIn.

At the request of the Labour ministry, the Defense ministry determined the level of pensions based on the calculus put forward by the new la. For all situations, pensions dropped somewhere between 19 to 69%, the published document reads.

In such conditions, all pensions will be affected, included those that are not paid yet. Official sources declared for Mediafax, in March that representatives of the system plan to propose a series of amendments to the law if the current system will be upheld.

Gandul notes that President Basescu purchased a regular Dacia Duster model. The newspaper reads that the car was paid by Maria Basescu, his wife. The total cost of the car was about 17400 euro and the model is part of the series.

Basescu did not receive any cuts from the constructor and there is no acknowledgment regarding the use of the car for a certain period of time. Quoted sources declared that the car is a usual model.

It seems, however, that the car will be red even though Dacia does not offer its models on red for the SUV model. According to data offered by Dacia officials, about 400 orders for Duster were registered and 80% of the clients opted for the full option model.

According to estimates, the factory might produce about 60,000 Duster models this year, for both the Romanian market and the foreign one. Plus, in 2011 Duster will be produced in Renault factories in Brasil and Russia, in 100,000 and 80,000 units.

Evenimentul Zilei reads that the Superior Council of Magistracy approved the arrest of Florin Costiniu, Chief of the Civil Department within the Supreme Court. Costiniu is accused of traffic of influence in favor of businessman Costel Casuneanu in the same file in which Senator Catalin Voicu was arrested.

Costiniu is expected today at hearings by anti graft prosecutors, judicial sources said. It remains to be seen whether he will attend the hearings, as he is in vacation for 15 days, starting April 1. In the same department, judge Jipa works – he is known after he deleted the prejudice in the Rafo file and split the file in which businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vantu was accused together with Ioana Vlas.

Last but not least, Romanian military Eugen Bida was wounded in Afghanistan yesterday morning. According to Gandul, he was operated urgently. Bida is the 52nd Romanian military wounded in Afghanistan.

Currently, Bida is stable at the time, hospitalized in Langam, a military base. He was part of a mixed Romanian – Afghan patrol that was attacked violently while they were patrolling nearby Qalat, in Zabul.