What the newspapers say: May 12, 2011

We find out we are out of recession but what do we do with the crisis, one newspaper reads on Thursday. To get money, Romania’s Interior ministry rents out helicopters. Schengen space is threatened by Paris and Rome who want to sacrifice freedom of movement to stop immigration. Denmark also joins in by reintroducing customs controls at its border with Germany and Sweden. While European strategies made them a priority in the development of intermodal transports, Romania’s ports at the Danube confront an acute crisis.

Evenimentul Zilei quotes financial experts who are convinced that Romania is out of the recession but they warn that reforms must be continued at the same pace. Experts expect statistical data to announce the end of recession, in agreement with IMF experts.

Even though it had a modest evolution, the economy managed to continue its growth registered in the last quarter of 2010 which in technical terms means that we are out of the recession. The demand, from abroad was the main cause of the economic increase, experts say.

For the whole year, analysts see a 1.5% – 2% increase of the economy. However on the medium term Romania’s potential of growth is 3%, IMF chief of mission in Romania said. The newspaper reads that there are many voices who claim that the economy could use some productivity.

The IMF chief of mission said that authorities should try to bring in the country some of the Romanians with very good results abroad. There are many who say that the suggestion will remain only in theory because in Romania they do not have the infrastructure and the peace of mind they have abroad.

To get more money, Romania’s Interior ministry rents out its helicopters, Gandul reads. All helicopters owned by the Interior ministry might be available for rent to companies or private persons due to lack of money. Meanwhile, pilots risk losing their license because they do not have financial resources to ensure their necessary flying hours.

The helicopters are the biggest in Romania and costs will be like those on the market. An approximate cost for one hour will vary depending on the difficulty and location between 2500 to 4000 euro. However, missions will not be affected by these activities because each contract will stipulate that in case of emergencies, the client is left and the helicopter present where it is needed.

Romania libera reads that freedom of movement is threatened by the proposals of the European Commission to temporary reintroduce national customs controls in Schengen. Under the pressure of the French and Italians, who demand a re-evaluation of the Schengen agreement due to the massive wave to Tunisian immigrants, the European Commission accepted to analyze the possibility to temporary reinstate border control but only in exceptional cases.

The request of the two countries was considered an attack to one of the biggest achievements of the EU and the Commission reminded of the European character of the system and proposed measures based on European mechanisms. Experts appreciate that the request of the two countries is the expression of a general view developed in several EU member states where distrust and the tendency to withdraw from common mechanisms became popular political arguments.

In this vein, Gandul reads that Denmark will reintroduce border controls at its borders with Germany and Sweden on grounds that in the last years the rate of trans-border criminality increased. The measures are meant to counter illegal immigration and other felonies.

Romania libera reads that even though they are a priority at the European level for improving international transports, ports at the Danube face a serious problem.

At the level of the EU authorities plan to develop four routes of railway transports that cut the Danube region and develop by 2020 of some efficient terminals in the Danube ports to connect interior routes with the railway and road routes. However, until these projects are implemented, the crisis affected even the small projects that were undertaken so far.

For example, in Galati South East Romania a new Terminal for Containers was inaugurated in September 2008 but no container entered the terminal for two and a half years. The total investment was 10 million euro.