A further take on corporations, responsibility, and the market in Romania. The strong focus on environment, funding mechanisms, and fashion in an interview with Dragos Bucurenci, founder of a specialised NGO
Sensitivity on corporate social responsibility is embryonic in Romania as well as elsewhere. Trade unions are absent, institutions are fragile, and NGOs draw on the business sector for their fund-raising activity
Osservatorio met Cristian Tudor Popescu, a well-known Romanian journalist and political analyst, to talk about the media, freedom of expression and the forthcoming presidential elections
"We have not managed to deal with the legacy of communism in a clear way and this is not only a source of confusion, but also of frustration". The events of 1989, an ambiguous revolution, the Romanians and Europe. An interview with Mircea Vasilescu
A "moment of glory and great courage" but also "too many black holes and no shared interpretation of the events". Twenty years later, says professor Mirela Murgescu, the Romanian revolution of December 1989, which could have become the "founding myth" of the new Romanian democracy, still remains extremely controversial. An interview
Following the post-electoral violence in Moldova, Romanian authorities approved an urgent act which simplifies the procedures to obtain Romanian citizenship. Despite the tough reactions of Chişinău's authorities, thousands of Moldovans rushed to apply for a Romanian passport
Romanian NGOs are facing a debate that is not unknown to Italian ones. Budget cuts risk to jeopardise cooperation programs as well as the country's recent participation in international development policies
The electoral campaign in Moldova ends with serious infringements of citizenship rights. Fifty Moldovan students studying in Romania were denied entering their own country, while three hundred Romanian citizens were stopped at the border and prevented to participate in cultural and political events organised by electoral candidates
On 8 February 2009, Switzerland will decide by referendum whether or not to approve an agreement with the European Union which would extend to Bulgaria and Romania the right of free movement of persons through its territory. For the two Balkan countries, the vote, especially if negative, will test the strength of European solidarity
Romania has a new government based on an agreement between the social democrats and the liberal democrats, and led by the latter's president, Emil Boc. Despite the new government's large majority, it has already been exposed to a storm of media criticism as it considers hard choices in confronting the economic crisis
The second round of local elections in Bucharest brought victory to the independent candidate Sorin Oprescu. The mayor-elect will have to come to grips with the serious problems of an overpopulated city, which has less green space, more illegal construction, and traffic at the verge of collapse
