What the newspapers say: July 29, 2008

President Basescu demands an extraordinary Parliamentarian session, so that the criminal inquiry of former ministers may begin. Still, the main focus in all newspapers is on the floods, which covered wide areas in North Romania, the updates being that the Parliament has blocked the obligatory anti-flood insurance law.

Romania president Traian Basescu has called yesterday for a new extraordinary Parliamentarian session, invoking the Brussels warning pointing at the lack of results in the anti-graft campaign, Evenimentul Zilei informs. The Parliament has to approve the criminal inquiry against four of its members, all of them former ministers, in order for the National Anti-Graft Prosecution Office (DNA) to continue its procedures.

The best news of the day is that the Stock Exchange will begin dealing state-owned stock an state titles on August 4, thus gaining one of the safest and most credible instruments. Starting next Monday, the Bucharest Stock Exchange will offer 26 series of state bonds, with a 7% – 8.25% out-turn, same Evenimentul Zilei reads.

In the main news of the day: the damage caused by the floods could have been less of a disaster if parliamentarians did their job right. A law forcing all Romanians to sign obligatory insurance policies against earthquakes and floods is in the Parliament since 2006 and was blocked by the lack of interest of politicians, Romania Libera informs. For 20 euro per year for ordinary homes and 10 euro per year for cheap (adobe) houses, the disaster compensations would have been 20,000 euro and 10,000 euro, respectively.

In Evenimentul Zilei, the Environment Minister, Attila Korodi explains that everything humanly possible was already made, in order to prevent floods. Still, Romania needs thousands of kilometers of embankments, and confronts an acute lack of funding. Meanwhile, the weather has gone crazy enough to ensure floods every year now.

For some better news: Renault and Manhindra&Manhindra launched Logan Edge in India, the luxury version of an otherwise cheap car. Leather interior, chrome and wood ornaments, ABS, parking sensors and a Kenwood sound system are a few of the features that transformed the popular model into a rather exclusive car, Gandul notes.

Speaking about cars: Germans are frightened by a new scenario in which Ford will shut its factory in Koln, after opening its production facility in Romania, in 2010. The Koln factory currently employs 1,200 people, producing 200,000 units per year, all for the US market, Cotidianul informs. The shutting of the factory may lead to a new scandal, as it was the case with the Finnish mobile phones producer, Nokia.