What the newspapers say: October 24, 2008

Corruption, politics, lies, international crisis and an uncertain future for all businesses, but mainly in oil and natural gas: this is the news on Friday. And a bit of solar energy for those who don’t want to pay huge bills for the rest of their lives.

A case revealing the exact portrait of the Romanian Justice: a policeman accused of being a pimp / brothel protector passed out several times and was taken to the hospital, since he was unable to answer the questions in Court. As soon as he went out the doors of the institutions, he suddenly felt well enough to attempt to beat up a reporter of a local newspaper, Gandul reads.

Romania President Traian Basescu and Hungary President Solyom Laszlo met on Thursday in Miercurea Ciuc, where the Hungarian head of state once again pledged in favor of an autonomous region for the Hungarian Minority. Basescu replied that there will be as much autonomy for the Hungarians as there will be for any Romanians, regardless the region they live in, Gandul and Cotidianul read.

In a new development of the Nabucco project negotiations, the European Commission energy deputy manager, Fabrizio Barbaso, discussed the issue with Evenimentul Zilei reporters. The main line of the interview reveals that it is still hard to believe that the Nabucco project will have enough natural gas suppliers to function at full capacity. On the other hand, when it comes to South Stream, the similar project led by Russia, the EC official reminds that the Commission can not make recommendations on whether Romania should or should not involve in the project, Evenimentul Zilei reads.

Completely against this statement, the president of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, declared for NewsIn that Bucharest officials should resist the temptation to join in the South Stream project, because the participation would only increase the dependence Romania has on Russian natural gas, Romania Libera reads.

In the end, the top news and articles on Friday discuss the wealth of politicians. Democrat-Liberal Elena Udrea makes it to the front page in both Evenimentul Zilei and Cotidianul, with a wealth statement that differs significantly from the one submitted two years ago. Both newspapers claim that Udrea – one of the millionaires in politics – tries to look less rich than she really is. Alongside, candidates from the Liberal party and the Conservatives fill the picture of businessmen who try to hide their wealth from the public eye.

The main green news of the day is that the Government issued a law draft that may help Romanians put up small solar plants for their apartments. The state would cover 90% of the costs for solar panels used for heating up apartments, within the 7,000 – 9,000 Euros limit, enough for a 150 square meters home, Cotidianul and Romania Libera read.