EU-DIGEST

Thirty-eight people in the U.S. and Romania have been charged in two indictments alleging they used complicated Internet phishing schemes to steal thousands of credit and debit card numbers, U.S. and Romanian authorities announced Monday. The indictments, in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and the District of Connecticut, focus on two related phishing schemes with ties to organized crime, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Phishing involves sending e-mail messages that look like official correspondents from banks or credit card vendors in an attempt to get recipients to go to a fake Web site and enter their account numbers. The Romanian members of the organization obtained thousands of credit and debit card accounts and other personal information through phishing, according to the indictment. The group sent more than 1.3 million spam e-mail messages in one phishing attack, the DOJ said. The Romanians collected the victims' information and sent the data to cashiers in the U.S. through Internet chat messages, the DOJ said. The U.S. cashiers used hardware called encoders to record the fraudulently obtained information onto the magnetic strips on the back of credit and debit cards. Cashiers then directed other criminals called runners to test the fraudulent cards by checking balances or withdrawing small amounts of money at ATMs.

Labels: EU, phishing, Romania

Strike Ends At Romania’s Renault Plant

Employees at Romania’s Renault-owned Dacia carmaker have ended their three week strike. After many rounds of negociation, Dacia`s administrators offered a rise of Lei 300 (€ 85) to be paid to workers from the period dating from 1 January 2008 and an additional Lei 60 (€ 17) to be paid from from 1 September. Every employee will get a bonus of at least Lei 900 (€ 257) annually.

Labels: Car Industry, EU, Renault, Romania

Romania - Andrei Plesu on Karaoke capitalism in Romania

Philosopher Andrei Plesu describes Romania's young capitalism as imitating a model.There are three domestic kinds of borrowed capitalists. First there is the nouveau riche: He is a kind of Al Capone, still dumbfounded at being so rich, and tending to display money rather than spend it. Next come the company girls and boys: They have no individuality, all dressing the same, eating the same, thinking the same and talking the same? They work a lot because they want to become rich. Thirdly, there's the manager: He knows all the rules, has no time to lose and no interest in the chatter of intellectuals. He judges a text by its length and a book by its sales figures...

Labels: EU, Romania

Romanian Corruption Continues - Ex-agent: Romania's spies launder money in Moldova; misinform about PMR - by Marius Oroveanu

The Romanian intelligence services working in Moldova misinform the Romanian leadership about the true situation in Moldova, says Moldova Suverana journalist Mihai Contiu, a former undercover agent for Romania. They do so in order to launder money for sponsoring of specific Moldovan politicians and journalists, says Contiu, who published in the newspaper an open letter to the President and the Prime Minister of Romania alleging that he has received such information, working within last 15 years as an agent of the Romanian intelligence services in Moldova.

Agents working for the Romanian Serviciul Român de Informaţii (S.R.I.) routinely portray Transnistria (Pridnestrovie) as a "black hole" which is involved in smuggling and is a danger to the security of the Black Sea region of Europe. By exaggerating a threat and inventing reports for which there is no evidence, they are able to increase their budgets which are then split between the agents and anti-Transnistrian journalists in Moldova who help fabricate the information.

Labels: Corruption, EU, Romania

BULGARIA AND ROMANIA - THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO REPROACH BULGARIA AGAIN FOR ORGANISED CRIME AND CORRUPTION - by - Spasena Baramova

Bulgaria and Romania were still not presenting convincing enough results from their campaigns against corruption and organised crime, France press agency commented based on a preliminary report by the European Commission due to be published on November 6. Although a lot had been done, there was still room for progress in this sphere, the report said. The report focuses its attention mainly on the Balkan countries applying for membership in the EU – Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Albania, Macedonia and Turkey, Dnevnik daily reported.

According to the report, the EU would not accept new members in the next few years.

Labels: Bulgaria, Corruption, EU, Romania

Romanian President Basescu: ''I will call back many ambassadors''

Romania acting like a Banana Republic - Romanian President Basescu: ''I will call back many ambassadors''

Romania acting like a Banana Republic - Romanian President Basescu: ''I will call back many ambassadors''

Romanian President Traian Basescu confessed in a talk show on the public television channel his dissatisfaction with the job of many Romanian ambassadors. He argued that many diplomats have failed to understand their job and did not actively involve in the problems Romanians are facing abroad. Basescu added that Romanian ambassadors push forward their own interests and despise other Romanians. When asked about the tensions Romanians are facing in Italy now, Basescu said that one of the most serious problems Romania is facing is represented by Romanian citizens of Rroma origin and their criminal acts abroad.

Note EU=Digest:"The social problems in Romania are many, and they are usually linked with the poverty of much of the population. More than 30% are living below the poverty line, and this places an unbearable burden on large families in particular - domestic violence is an everyday occurrence. Children suffer in particular from poverty. In Bucharest there are still large numbers of street children. The situation is made worse by the fact that medical care is often inadequate, with the state failing to provide an adequate health system and social welfare.On the other hand the Romanian economy has been growing rapidly, despite facing major restructuring problems. There still remains an urgent need to reform bureaucracy and make further advances in privatization if the positive trend is to be maintained in the longer term. Foreign trade is a key element of economic growth. The economy has also benefiting from a building boom, and from the drive to improve the infrastructure, funded in part by the European Union. Unfortunately corruption is still rampant which hampers economic wealth to be spread more evenly among the total population".

Labels: EU, Romania

Romanian criminals arrive by the thousands in Italy - Government crackdown on foreign crime - by Christian Fraser

The Italian government has given local authorities the power to expel European Union citizens who pose a threat to public security. There has been outcry over a series of crimes attributed to immigrants, mostly Romanian. Since Romania's accession to the EU this year, the authorities say that over 1,000 Romanian immigrants have arrived in Italy each month.Since June last year 76 murders have been committed by Romanians.

Mr Prodi believes Italy is not alone in facing this new wave of crime and he has called on Europe's home office ministers to meet and find a solution.

Labels: Crime, EU, Romania

Eurofighter launches offer for multi-role planes in Romania

The Eurofighter consortium is ready to deliver 24 Typhoon aircraft to the Romanian Air Force in the 2010-2014 period, the program director for Romania Giuseppe Paoletti said on Friday at a press conference organized within the EXPOMIL 2007 show in Bucharest. Moreover, the said consortium is willing to provide the first operational squadron of Typhoon warplanes in 2010.

The Eurofighter official underscored that Finnmecanica of Italy was interested in buying the local Craiova-based Aircraft Factory, which may offer technical support and maintenance for the Typhoon warplane.

Labels: Aircraft Industry, EU, EuroFighter, Fighter Aircraft sales, Romania

Iran 1st in Romania science fair

Iran has gained first place in Romania's 11th international science, innovation and technology fair, winning a total of 20 medals. The Iranian science team won 9 gold, 7 silver, 4 bronze medals, and the competition's special award for their innovative project on thermal concrete.

Labels: Iran, Romania, Science

EU Commission critical of Romania and Bulgaria - by Thys Papot

Romania, as well as Bulgaria, is showing insufficient progress in the fight against corruption and reforming legal powers. The reforms look good on paper, but fail to be carried out, according to the report. The Commission is especially critical of the impotence of Bulgaria in getting to grips with organized crime. Liquidations are common, but are rarely solved.

Romania and Bulgaria last year received the green light from the European Commission, but now the green light has turned to yellow. Brussels is critical of reform efforts so far by the new member states in the areas of justice and corruption, but finds it still too early for concrete sanctions.

Labels: Bulgaria, EU, Romania

Council of Europe: Romania Saw No Evil - by Spencer Ackerman

According to the Council of Europe's report into the secret CIA prisons, Romania jumped at the chance to host U.S. detention facilities. A week after 9/11, the Romanian parliament approved a measure granting "basing and overflight permissions for all U.S. and coalition partners," which investigator Dick Marty, citing a Romanian source, describes as "deliberately designed to cover aircraft operated by or on behalf of the CIA." Within a month, it expanded its troop garrisoning accord with the U.S. -- known as a Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA -- to include "anyone declared by the American authorities to be part of the U.S. armed forces, and can present a travel order signed by the U.S. military." In 2005, Romania went even further in accommodating U.S. military and intelligence personnel, signing yet another agreement. Note EU-Digest: this is another example of how little the EU citizens know about the secretive actions of the US government and the collaboration of their own governments in these devious acts with complete freedom from scrutiny or interference. It is time to wake up.

Labels: CIA, EU, Romania

Romanian film takes top Cannes prize - Angela Doland

A harrowing film about illegal abortion in Communist-era Romania beat 21 movies by well-known directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Ethan and Joel Coen, and Wong Kar-wai to win the Cannes Film Festival's top prize today. Romanian director Cristian Mungiu's low-budget film, "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," depicts the horrors a student goes through to ensure her friend can have a secret abortion.

Several high-profile movies that screened at Cannes were not in the running for prizes, including Michael Moore's "Sicko"; "Ocean's Thirteen," starring George Clooney and Matt Damon; and "A Mighty Heart," featuring Angelina Jolie as the widow of slain journalist Daniel Pearl.German writer and director Fatih Akin's "The Edge of Heaven," a German-Turkish crosscultural tale of loss, mourning and forgiveness, won the prize for best screenplay.

Labels: Cannes Film Festival, Romania

Chaos in Romania: Romanian president in fresh controversy - - by Christopher Condon

Even as he overcame a weekend referendum seeking to remove him from office, Traian Basescu, Romania’s president, strode into fresh controversy on Saturday after a confrontation with a journalist that allegedly involved racist remarks. In an incident that underlined critics’ claims that Mr Basescu’s explosive temperament makes him a divisive figure, the populist politician seized a mobile telephone being used by a reporter to record an interview with him as he was shopping with his wife.

Mr Basescu then left apparently unaware that the phone was still recording his conversation with his wife. After the phone was returned to the reporter’s television station, the recording revealed that Mr Basescu had called the journalist a “stinking Gypsy”.

Labels: EU, Romania, Traian Basescu

EU Worried About Political, Legal Situation In Romania

The European Union expressed concern with the political and legal situation Romania confronts with only four months after the accession, Deutsche Welle said Tuesday, citing several German papers. Romania’s former justice minister Monica Macovei said in an interview for Die Welt on Tuesday that she is ashamed “for the Romanian parliament and government,” Deutsche Welle said.

Labels: Corruption, Political, Romania

New Danube Bridge Between Bulgaria and Romania Gets Go-ahead

Bulgarian authorities on Sunday gave the formal go-ahead for the building of a new bridge over the Danube. The bridge will connect the northwest town of Vidin with Kalafat in Romania, shortening the land route from Sofia to northern and western Europe by more than 300 km.Currently, only one bridge linking Rousse and Giurgiu, 250km northeast of Bulgaria’s capital, connects the two countries along their 500km river border. Facing that longer route, most Bulgarians prefer to travel to Europe via Serbia.

The completion of the new bridge, scheduled for 2010, is expected to redirect a significant part of the traffic now using the Serbian route.

Labels: Bulgaria, Romania

Romania political row worries EU officials

The European Commission is concerned about Romania's political instability that is slowing down judiciary and anti-corruption reforms, Brussels media said. Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu has fired government ministers who support Romanian President Traian Basescu, thus ending a center-right coalition after months of political disputes between the two men that has nearly paralyzed the country, the EU Observer said Tuesday.

Labels: Calin Popescu, EU, Politics, Romania, Traian Basescu