Romania may soon have a competitive air force, but the selection process for aircraft suppliers must first pass the President - Prime Minister influence game. Everything else in Romania is the same as usual: theft, robbery, debt, financial crisis, corruption and, of course, luxury spending.
Romania president Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu can't agree on what kind of fighters should be bought for the Romanian air force. There are some 4.5 billion euro to spend in the military equipment upgrade and no less than five major player waiting to win the money: F-16 (Lockheed Martin), Saab JAS 39 Gripen (Gripen/Saab), Dassault Rafale, F-18 Hornet (Boeing) and Eurofighter Typhoon. Financial Times informed that the quarrel between the president and the PM begun because of the "different perspectives" on the matter, Basescu preferring Lockheed Martin, while Tariceanu would rather buy from an European producer, Cotidianul reads.
Until we get to spend all that cash, things are going pretty bad in the economy backyard: the stock exchange is still dropping, the national currency is in free fall and the banks may soon rise the interest rates for an already too indebted populace. The Bucharest stock exchange lost some 3.5 billion euro the past week only, with a maximum fall in one day on Tuesday - 7.4%, Gandul reminds. The national currency, RON, fell from 3.6 to 3.68 RON per euro in the same period.
back to the usual, everyday corruption, scandals: the 'Internet of the Future" project, designed to spread the access to Internet via wireless WiMax networks in remote locations is the new reason to play some "influence trafficking" game. The one who should implement the project, Dorin Liviu Nistoran, head of the National Telecomm Agency, is none other than the Nistoran owning Televoice Group, a company involved in data and voi
