* DAILY NEWS *

EDITORIAL

Iuppiter Tonans – Zoe Petre – Ziua – read here -
“I am trying to understand why I am so furious at Mr. Basescu's attack against Mr. Cristian Parvulescu and his family. It is not the first of the kind: Mr. President has often insinuated something fishy about the relatives or friends of his enemies, some complicity he feels tempted to denounce. Part of the same cheap telenovela repertoire is the story with "I trusted him/her, but he/she disappointed me", which we have often heard in relation to Mr. President's terms with the prime minister or with his advisers whom he sacked. I am keeping under control my eagerness to see it truly face the dissatisfaction of the PD (Democrat Party). But the Parvulescu episode still seems to have gone too far...”.

POLITICS

Justice minister's resignation is irrelevant to European Commission – Anca Hriban & Razvan Gheorghe – Ziua – read here -
“Brussels sources reckon Bucharest attention is getting away from the most important objective, that is the fight against corruption, as perceived by the EU eye. There is also the fact that not only EU officials have expressed dissatisfaction in Brussels, but also the now angry officials of member states who have emphasized the need for a fight against Romanian corruption“.

Warnings from Brussels – D.E. – Ziua – read here -
“Romania should take greater efforts to consolidate its administrative capacity, improve macro-economic stability and proceed to a significant cut on excessive bureaucracy so that a better business environment would emerge. This is part of a recent report by the European Commission cited by Rompres. Romania will also have to modernize the labor market in order to catch up and meet the EU standards”.

'Chishinau affair', intelligence challenge for Romania – D.E. – Ziua – read here -
“The expulsion of the two Romanian diplomats uncovers the flaws of Romania's intelligence services. The two Romanian diplomats now undesirable in the Moldovan Republic reached Romania yesterday afternoon, accompanied by several representatives of the Romanian Embassy in the Moldovan Republic”.