Romania’s Senate Goes Mad

Posted on: July 6, 2008

Romania’s Senate has passed a law which obliges the media to present an equal proportion of positive news, in order to balance the “bad” news in the Romanian media. One of the most extraordinary facts about this law is that it was passed unanimously by Romania’s Senate. What were they thinking?

The implications of this media law are boggling: to impose a “positive news” rule on a free media is technically impossible in an open society. To do so would require a comprehensive system of censorship, a clampdown on freedom of expression that would be inadmissible within the EU; it would debilitate the media and be a throwback to the Communist era. It would be unacceptable to the media, the government, the public and the EU. It is unworkable, unthinkable, impossible. Continue reading →

Get on your bike

Posted on: June 25, 2008

Imagine a form of transport that is virtually free, gets you healthy, and can get you anywhere within Bucharest in less than an hour. Is the humble bicycle the answer to our transport problems?

Anxiety is growing about the price of oil, which has quadrupled in recent years and shows no sign of coming down in price. Suddenly, renewable energy and alternative forms of transport are looking more attractive than ever before.

As a long term resident of Bucharest (I first came here in 1986) I can guarantee that there is no better way of getting around town than a bicycle; it is fast, cheap and healthy. And I have tried it all: car, bus, tram, metro, foot, skateboard. Cycling is ideal for business people as they value their time, health and money. But you do have to be aware of the risks. Continue reading →

If I was the mayor

Posted on: June 13, 2008

If I had stood for the local elections I would have come with an ecological strategy that would have provided everything required for a campaigning politician; connection to a hot global issue, a ready made framework that would create jobs, cut pollution, solve transport problems, attract tourists and bring discipline to construction. And I would have a framework to slam other candidates for using eco labels in their campaigns but failing to address the threats of global warming and the upcoming energy crisis (this is known as “greenwash” in the UK). Continue reading →

EU funds could re-forest Romania

Posted on: May 13, 2008

Interview

Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (DAZ):You are demanding the plantation of new trees in Romania. What benefits for the environment are you expecting with this measure?

Rupert Wolfe Murray (RWM): Due to global warming and successive heat-waves, much of Romania’s farmland is being abandoned or is becoming impossible to farm. Other areas cannot retain the water in the land – and the inability to retain water is the definition of a desert. Continue reading →

Bureaucrats ban ancient rural practises

Posted on: May 1, 2008

The proposed ban against transhumance is symptomatic of the Romanian government’s attitude towards the peasantry, but it goes against the values of the EU.

It would be really tragic if Romania banned transhumance (the ancient practise of taking huge flocks of sheep to mountain pastures for the summer) . Although the practise may contravene some of the EU’s public health rules, there is a strong tendency within the EU to suport traditional cultural practises within EU member states, to encourage diversity as well as environmentally friendly activities.

Continue reading →

In reply to our critics

Posted on: April 4, 2008

Feedback to the intelligent and critical comments on our site.

We have been getting some high quality feedback on our blog recently and I feel inspired to write about some of these comments. Considering the garbage that gets posted under most online articles or videos (have you seen the trash written under youtube clips?) I think we’re lucky to get such intelligent and coherent feedback. We must have a superior quality of web visitor and I would be interested to know how they come across us. Continue reading →

Foreign impressions of Bucharest

Posted on: January 17, 2008

A foreign visitor in Bucharest would be forgiven for assuming he had landed in the Middle East rather than a capital city of the European Union. Bucharest has more in common with Cairo than it does with Brussels, Rome or London.

The first thing the visitor will notice is the traffic jam from the airport, as well as the overwhelming outdoor advertising banners in Otopeni – a form of advertising which is very strictly controlled (and not very visible) in most European cities. If he enquires about train or metro links from the airport he will hear some cynical, rude and perhaps amusing replies. Continue reading →

Cars have more rights than people

Posted on: November 20, 2007

The ancient historian Herodotus had some useful advice for the travellers and writers of his day: in order to understand a situation you must ask lots of people the same question. I have been following Herodotus’s advice for some years now by asking people I meet in Bucharest — taxi drivers, policemen, old ladies, shopkeepers – “Why are people allowed to park their cars on the pavements?” Continue reading →

A green proposal for Romania

Posted on: November 6, 2007

Adevarul made a sensational discovery last week – it found a copy of Romania’s post accession strategy. It made for depressing reading. By 2025, the strategy stated, Romania’s population would be decimated, the economy would be on its knees and the level of poverty would be sky high.

But this is not a strategy, at best it could be called an “analysis”. What the authors did was simply take current social and economic trends and project them into the future, coming up with their gloomy prognosis. It lacks the essentials of a strategy: a goal, a target, something to which the country (or at least the politicians) can strive towards; not to mention the public consultation and publicity that accompany similar strategies in normal countries. Continue reading →

Romania’s European Parliament elections

Posted on: October 31, 2007

There are several things that Romania has in common with my home country Britain: the worship of the car and under-investment in railways; slow progress when it comes to tackling climate change and, most noticeably, a feeling of being on the “edge” of Europe. Britons feel closer to America than continental Europe and refer to “the Continent” as somewhere quite distant and remote from their daily concerns. Both populations share a lack of interest in the European Parliament elections. Continue reading →