French president Sarkozy wants France to participate in the Nabucco project - a natural gas pipeline to provide Caspian resources towards Europe, but would also provide Romania with nuclear technology, for a second plant. Meanwhile, the state budget for 2008 spells austerity, as prime minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu and Central Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu agreed on Tuesday. The Parliament is as busy as usual, trying to relocate the construction of the largest Cathedral in Bucharest, so that parliamentarians would keep their tennis courts. Just another day in Romania.

Gaz de France will involve in the construction of the Nabucco project, a pipeline designed to transport natural gas from the Caspian Sea towards Europe, in an attempt to avoid the Russian domination over the European market. At the same time, Nicolas Sarkozy asked about the possibility of having France sell nuclear technology to Romania, for the construction of a future nuclear plant, Cotidianul informs. At this moment, Romania has a nuclear plant at Cernavoda, with two working reactors, providing some 14% of the national energy requirements. Other 2.2 billion euro will be invested in the same plant, in order to launch in production other two reactors.

The Government and the Central Bank (BNR) agreed that 2008 should be an austerity year, despite the fact that it is an electoral year. A "compromise" was reached, with the Government promising to keep in a short leash the salaries growth and the "electoral presents", preferring to adopt a series of prudent policies, including severe limits to the budgetary spending and a firm rejection of the union demands for higher wages, Evenimentul Zilei reads.

Same Evenimentul Zilei quotes a TV intervention of former Justice Minister Monica Macovei, who pointed in a Realitatea TV interview that the only chance to have a functional