THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

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THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 06 

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 03

Romanian Migrants: So Much For The Flood

the  first wave of a feared flood of Romanian migrants arrived in Britain, all four of them, the Mirror reported.   

The men flew in from Bucharest hours after Romania and Bulgaria finally joined the EU at the start of 2007. Three of them are students, and the fourth is a construction worker .

One of the students, Cosmin gave up his position as a mortgage advisor at a bank. He said: "I've come to work for six months. I'm very happy to be here. Even though I was at a bank, the money didn't compare to what I'll earn in the UK."

In the UK, tight controls on the movement of workers are in place. Only those coming to fill gaps in the labour market and paying taxes will be admitted.

The Government has also launched a last-minute advertising campaign in the countries warning that those working illegally in Britain will be fined.

Bulgarians and Romanians working without permits face 1,000  pound fines. Firms employing them can be fined up to 5,000 pound. Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said: "Workers or employers tempted to break the rules should be aware penalties will be robustly enforced."

Mr Byrne insisted the Government still backed new countries joining the EU.

But he added the Government wanted to proceed cautiously in opening up its borders. He said: "We need to understand the impact from the last round of accessions before we take the next step.

"Through this, we'll ensure that migration is managed in the best interests of the country."

Budget airline Wizz Air starts direct flights from Bucharest to Luton on January 15.

Food Producers Drop Prices As Romania Joins EU

Romania’s EU accession brings price hikes for utilities and price cuts for most home appliances  and food products.      The EU accession means trouble with prices, just like it happened two years ago at the previous EU enlargement wave. The energy field will be the one most affected by the price hikes because they must comply with EU standards. This will also cause utilities prices to hike .

However, the most visible effect of the integration Is the modification of the Customs regime. The fact that many international food producers will enter the Romanian market will force  domestic producers to cut prices in order to remain competitive.

Representatives of the  employers associations in the food sector say  prices may go down by 20%. Specialists think Romania will import a lot of pork, because the domestic pork production covers only half of the market demand.

Dairy products will also be up to 40% cheaper due to the pressure represented by  EU producers’s presence on the Romanian market.

Bakery products will be no more than 15% cheaper, according to representatives of the local bakery producers.

THURSDAY, JAN 04

Romanian President Criticized by US Cults' Watchdog

Romanian President Traian Basescu was criticized by the US Institute on Religion and Public Policy for approving a notorious new Law on Religion, deemed “unconstitutional”.  

Challenges of the law are planned in the Constitutional Court and, potentially, the European Court of Human Rights.

"The promulgation of this law by President Basescu is a blatant attack on religious freedom and fundamental rights and demonstrates little if any move away from the previous Communist regimes which he had promised to move Romania during his campaign," stated Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski.

"President Basescu and the Romanian parliament have now gained for Romania the moniker of worst religion law in Europe." The Law was rushed through parliament on December 13, 2006, and the presidential website reported that it was promulgated December 27.

Those monitoring the law in Romania report that Romanian media paid little attention to the law despite the procedural irregularities of its passage. 

The new law conflicts with the Romanian Constitution and already existing laws, in addition to internationally recognized human rights instruments to which the Romanian Government is obligated to adhere.   The law establishes a series of qualifying standards which must be met in order to obtain the government's preferential status.  Membership requires 0.1% of the population of Romania: considering the country's population, a group must consist of about 23,000 members to be eligible.  This repressive threshold establishes Romania as the most restrictive religious registration system in Europe.   The law also creates a tiered system of religious communities, with different rights associated with respective levels. In a recent draft a religious group must wait twelve years before qualifying for and being accepted into the most preferential status, provoking marked disapproval from wide-ranging groups including Adventists, Baha'is Baptists, Greek Catholics and Jehovah's Witnesses.     "The sudden rush to pass and now promulgate this legislation raises serious questions regarding Romania's recent positive movement toward democracy and protection of fundamental human rights," concluded Mr. Grieboski. "Romania can no longer be considered a friend to freedom of religion, as it had so long been."

This Year's First Day Of Snow Unleashes Chaos In Romania

The first day of heavy snowfall proved that Romania is not fully prepared for winter conditions, only a few days after it joined the European Union.   

Romania was paralyzed yesterday, by the first serious snow in this winter season, only days from the loudly trumpeted Romanian UE accession .

National and County roads were closed and road traffic was almost paralyzed nationwide, as Mayoralties did not prepare themselves accordingly although they received  weather warnings.

The winds and the heavy snow fall caused damage to electricity poles and energy distribution centers so that more than 1000 localities were in the dark yesterday evening after a full day of snowfall.    

Railroad traffic was also jammed on various routes near  Romania’s mountainside areas, as tourists were stuck at winter cottages because the roads were blocked  by heavy snow and fallen trees.

Bucahrest resembled Venetia as many of its districts were flooded  as the city’s sewerage system was overloaded by the sudden water burden.

Meteorologists  say  that the weather will clear off in a few days.

FRIDAY, JAN 05

The Drama Of The Eternal Child

Ashley the pillow angel, as she is called by her parents, is a nine year old girl with severe motor-psychological disorders given treatment to stop her growth.   

The girl was given doses of estrogen to stunt her growth and a hysterectomy to prevent menstrual cycles. She also receives  daily doses of oestrogen to ensure she will never grow taller than her current state.

This decision made by her parents sparked an international dispute over weather the parents have the right to “amputate” her this way.

Parents have defended their treatment decisions as necessary for their child's quality of life.

It was on New Year's Day that Ashley's father, a software executive, posted their blog entitled "The Ashley Treatment" naming their daughter and featuring photographs of her with her parents and younger brother and sister.

All the world knew was that she suffered from "static encephalopathy", a severe brain impairment; that she would forever have the mental age of a three-month-old baby; that she would never be able to walk, talk, keep her head up, roll over or sit up.

Her parents had learned that "growth attenuation" would keep her small, enabling them to carry her. Removing her uterus would prevent her menstruating and removing her breast buds would prevent her growing the large breasts that run in her family. They believed all this to be in their daughter's best interests.

Euro-Elections Shuffle The Romanian Political Stage

2007 will be a year when the Romanian political stage will shuffle and the balance of power will shift, as euro-elections draw near.  

The elections for the European Parliament will be a though challenge for the ruling DA Alliance formed of PNL and PD.   The euro-elections  will integrally fill half of this year. First through the electoral campaign  then through the domestic reshuffling inside parties, reshuffling which will be reflected in the elections.

The true explanation or the importance of this political event is the fact that it would represent a true opinion poll. The election’s results will show the real potential of each party.

For the small parties like PNTCD, PNG, PC, PIN it would be a true evaluation of their chances for a seat  in the Parliament . Weak results for opposition’s main party , PSD, would mean a new internal power struggle, while for PNL weak Euro-elections results may force PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu to resign as  PNL’s leader.

The other half of 2007 will also be an electoral event, as the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections draw  near.