Corlatean, public menace - in good company...
(Photo source) The latest scandal to rock Romania (there's always one) has lead to massive diplomatic failure for any hopes of Schengen accession along with calls for , the present foreign minister (doesn't deserve capitals), to resign from his post. Corlatean stated that if the European Commission postpones viewing the Schengen issue, Romania would not insist on a review. What's that meant to be? Blackmail? A mega sulk? He clearly doesn't understand how diplomacy works. How can such an imbecile possibly end up in the position of Foreign Minister. Silly question, really - just look at the rest of the motley crew of so-called ministers and you have your answer.
“We have lived without entry to the Schengen zone for a long time, and we can live without it for longer,” Corlatean said. Such arrogance beggars all belief... Is he desperate? Mad? Or just utterly stupid?
Also in his speech: "Since the Romanian State, through its institutions, has been a weak state and, after accession to the European Union, failed to promote its interests in a dignified manner, without kowtowing, without negotiating petty interests, through a fair and solid domestic policy that respects the citizens, through a correct economic policy and a dignified positioning inside the EU, such matters should not surprise us. The time has come for us to act decisively. We have to spell it out: if we, Romania, have done our job, then we have a legitimate European expectation of being respected and waiting for a positive decision to be adopted.." If that really WAS his speech in English, God help anyone trying to understand it... One thing comes across though - Romanians have done their job, he says. Have they? Really? How? What have they done? Nastase jailed and then released with a comfy seat still there for him in PSD, looking terribly well after his time in Jilava? Remes and side-kick Muresan (both ex-ministers of agriculture) sentenced to 3 years for influence peddling, probably out in one? Seriously? WHAT has Romania honestly, truly done to fight corruption? Almost the entire government is made up of thugs with criminal records and/or cases pending, who should be behind bars right now - and everyone knows it.
(Photo source) If the PM's own thesis is a fake along with the whole pretense of a respectable government, Corlatean, Ponta and company are all the more arrogant to think that no one has twigged.
Germany certainly has and announced that under NO circumstances will it be supporting Romania's entry into the Schengen zone. EU interior and justice ministers meet in Brussels on 7-8 March with this issue on the agenda.
"Should Romania and Bulgaria insist upon a vote [at the meeting], then the proposal will fail by virtue of a German veto," German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich told Spiegel. "Even the possibility of partial approval - for arrival by air, or seaports - is off the table." Not improved by Corlatean's arrogance and utter lack of brains, for sure.
Friedrich went on to add that both Romania and Bulgaria still had work to do on the other requirements for Schengen membership, saying this was why Germany would block an eventual motion at the present time.
USL just doesn't seem to get the very simple fact that Romania needs the EU a great deal more than the EU needs Romania... As for , he's a danger to Romanian national interest and indeed SHOULD resign - along with the rest of the shameful criminals running the country and its reputation tirelessly into the ground.
(Photo source) Back in February, President Basescu urged Ponta to send a letter addressed to EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Council signed by the aforementioned along with the head of the senate Crin Antonescu and the head of the Chamber of Deputies Valeriu Zgonea, describing how problems identified in the most recent Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) report were being solved. Basescu said that if Romania wants a better Justice and Home Affairs report in March, the country needs to show clearly that it is addressing EU concerns. He also said that diplomacy alone would not secure Schengen Area accession, hinting that countries like Germany and the Netherlands would want to see hard evidence of progress in Romania. Correct. Ponta, however, responded that sending such a letter would be a “big mistake” as it would link Romania’s Schengen Area accession to the CVM reports. Logical? Not at all. The more I hear, the more convinced I am that Ponta and his cronies really DO want the EU to throw them out, leaving them a nice clear route so that they and their cronies can enrich themselves without hindrance, on the backs of their long-suffering population, via mind-boggling corruption and the destruction of state ressources. Not to mention international isolation.
Well, if that famous 90% don't care, so be it.
Commentaires sur Corlatean, public menace - in good company...
- Hi Adrian,
Nastase etc has everything to do with Schengen because it just shows that the whole battle against corruption is taken so lightly. That's the point. I don't think I have mixed anything up at all. I'm giving the top down view rather than the bottom up.
The horse scandal is another matter entirely and don't consider Romania to be responsible for it at all (see previous posts on the subject)
"I do not want to be a part of a EU that smiles when looking at me but thinks of me as a criminal when nobody pays attention." I couldnt agree more, which is why Romania's government as a whole should be making more of an effort to improve the country's image.
Basescu may well be a weasel (I love the parallel) - but Ponta is a slug in that case, and Crin has become something of a joke (sleepy dormouse). You know my opinion on that - I do not support either party (USL or ARD) but would vote Basescu if my back was against the wall to choose one or the other because I cannot stand Ponta nor PSD as a whole.
Basescu was perfectly right IMHO to want a letter sent explaining all that was being done to answer demands made by the EU for Schengen acceptance. He got that right.
"Do you think that special permits for EU CITIZENS from Romania to work in some EU countries - against the very essence of EU - are related also to the corruptiona of Nastase?" Actually, special permits in the UK may well be for EVERYONE in the EU not just for Romanians since they are not allowed to single out a country. A very stupid idea. But something has to be done to stop these benefit tourists (and I'm not saying they are all Romanian - see previous posts on that, too). But do I think it's all related to the corruption of Nastase? Of course not. It's related to corruption in Romania as a whole, and Nastase is just ONE example.
If Romanians think they'd be better off without the EU, I don't blame them - the Brits think they would, too and a UK referendum in 2017 will surely be a 'let's get out of here' result. Stupid and blind in my opinion, but that's just me. For Romania, however, it's a different story. But leaving the EU will mean more of a hassle for travel, for jobs abroad, for study abroad too and also for those nice projects with 'EU bani' that have paid for icerinks in little villages with low population in the middle of nowhere and football pitches on slopes... much of that 'bani' has also ended up lining pockets of officials. These profiteers will surely be sad to see the end of such a lucrative easy business of ripping off their own people. As I said, Romania needs the EU far more than the EU needs Romania (and yes, I know all about company investments etc etc but that's still not enough to argue, for the downside weighs them out). The problem is that the EU do not trust Romania and so far, Romania has not been able to prove the EU wrong in their assumption, however unfair that may be... - The point is that they should never have been allowed to join the EU in the first place. they weren't ready. WE weren't ready. No one was ready. They were allowed in for several reasons a) because there was a feeling that having a goal of membership would encourage Ro and Bulgaria to really set to work at fighting corruption (shows how ignorant the west is) and cleaning up their act in order to be respectable member states and b) the west were rather keen to get their grubby mits on the oil and natural gas...
Unfortunately, they did n't take into account any cultural differences or do their homework on Balkan mentality. Ro and Bulg much like the Brits, don't like to be told what to do by foreigners. Ro and Bulg cobbled together a bunch of God knows what efforts such as having Nastase thrown in jail which impressed Brussels no end... No kidding. Adrian, indeed, Nastase's arrest DOES have rather a lot to do with this and you are wrong to discount it.
I just read this written last October:
"The picture is not entirely bleak. There is a sense that while Romania is less organised and more chaotic than Bulgaria – a problem exacerbated by the current political stalemate between Romania’s president and prime minister - this hiatus may be leaving room for a serious reform movement to take root. Furthermore, the imprisonment on corruption charges of Adrian Nastase, a former prime minister, is touted in Brussels as a sign that Romanian judges are growing more courageous.
In Bulgaria the opposite prevails: EU officials talk of rigidly organised Ministries with “lines of patronage” running through them. Regarding judicial reform, anecdotal evidence suggests little has moved. The spate of contract killings that besmirched the period after communism ended appears to have died down. But when two mafia bosses were imprisoned for brawling, rumour has it they walked free from jail then wrote to the ministry of the interior – from an official ministry email address – noting how pleasant the weather was in the Seychelles.
The EU is reluctant to penalise Bulgaria or Romania formally by stripping them of EU funding. In reality this happens, though: they have spent little over 5% of their allocated resources because the rest could not be properly audited. "
Sarah, you are quite right to mention the famous and ever-muttered 'EU bani' for that, too, is a massive reason WHY no one trusts Romania. The Rroma, the evident corruption, the mis en scène of telenovele like Nastase and the other one you mention with the two idiots who were ministers of agriculture... Marga has done NOTHING for Romania's image, either... basically, all those who should be working to improve the country's representation to the international eye have done nothing but make things worse. The government and all officials almost without exception are SHAMEFUL. I can't see things getting much better for Romania as things currerntly stand.
If there are people arrogant enough to say 'we've lived without it for ages, we can live without it longer' and STILL take EU bani with an ever open hand when it was free for the taking, them shame on them, their pig arrogance and their ever-joyful knack of the ever-open hand. For the honest Romanians and Bulgarians living and working abroad, it is yet another slap in the face - following that of having had to leave their homes and often their families to have a better life and a shot at a decent future in the first place. God help them.
Here's the article I just read should anyone wish to see it: http://www.gpluseurope.com/brussels/details/should-romania-and-bulgaria-have-been-let-in-and-what-does-it-say-about-how-the-eu-club-expands - IAR N-AM PUTUT POSTA
Paste:
Draga Sarah, voi scrie in romana ca sa tastez mai repede.
1. Am mentionat scandalul carnii de cal doar ca sa subliniez faptul ca imaginea conteaza mai mult decat realitatile. Desi scandalul era si este in curtea multor tari europene, e mult mai simplu si eficient sa intorci degetul spre Romania si sa spui ca "uite vinovatul" desi problema e mai larga. Imi aduce aminte de nesfarsitele lectii pe care Europa ni le tinea pe tema tiganilor. Vai sarmanii ce discriminati si persecutati erau in ani '90 iar cand unii n-au mai putut si, romani cu unguri la un loc s-au hotarat sa-si faca singuri dreptate la Hadareni ... scandal. E, uite ca "desteptii" si moralistii europeni nu synt in stare sa se ocupe de problema cand e in curtea lor. Nici francezii nici germanii si nici finlandezii. E greu sa recunoasca faptul ca nu numai ca nu sunt cu nimic mai presus decat noi dar sunt si mult mai naivi (ca sa nu zic mai prosti). Pentru ca numai naivitatea lor extrema ii ajuta pe tigani sa prospere atat in acele tari unde pot fraieri pe oricine.
2. Occidentalii sunt usor de fraierit pentru ca inghit orice "news crap" care apare in media. Pentru ca majoritatea sunt ignoranti dat fiind ca sunt multumiti de traiul in sucul propriu si nu ii intereseaza de ce se intampla in jurul lor astfel ca s emultumesc cu toate ineptiile ce li se servesc de catre media si politicienii locali. A se vedea dezbaterea in PE (inregistrarea daca mai este ce am vazut eu live) despre "lovitura de stat" A PARLAMENTULUI SI A VOTULUI POPULAR din Romania referitoare lamizerabilul de Basescu. Sunt curios acum daca si in Cehia este lovitura de stat sau acolo e legitim. Acolo, in PE, era limpede ca majoritatea fie nu intelesese nimic fie vorbeau dupa articole de presa care mai de care mai stupide. Caci "The Sun" nu e decat un varf de iceberg. Dovada ca ceea ce spun eu e adevarat este ca UK s-a lansat in razboi in Irak pentru ca acole "erau arme de distrugere in masa". Sigur, e o scuza mai buna decat ce spun ameroicanii, anume ca pe ei ii mana in lupta dragostea de democratie pe pamant. Nici unii nici altii nu pot sa explice de ce nu au acelasi tip de actiune in Coreea de Nord de exemplu. Sau chiar in Siria. Noi stim ca resursele de petrol conteaza totusi mai mult. Dar una peste alta cred ca publicul occidental e magulit sa stie ca guverenele lor sunt "aia buni" si ca totul e invaluit de "democracy" si alte baliverne din astea.
3. Din nou, chestia cu Nastase mi se pare ori puerila ori lipsita de contra greutate. Adica astept si eu sa vad ceva pedepse pentru Franta pentru ca s-a dovedit ca si Chirac e corupt. Dar si la Berlusconi nu era ceva in regula. Si cred ca ma tem mai mult de mafia italiana care lasa gunoaiele in strada la Napoli daca nu-i convine treaba si nu lasa pe altii sa se ocupe de problema. Am inventat noi coruptia sau aveti senzatia ca in occident e "statul de drept" mai bun? Eu zic ca tine totl de interesul direct de bani si de aceea imaginea e construita asa, vezi din nou episodul cu carnea de cal. Stiu, occidentalii sunt obisnuiti cu clisee si cu a judeca lucrurile in alb si negru. De genul: sarbii niste criminal si croatii sau albanezii niste ingeri persecutati.
4. Despre ce "incredere" vorbim? Aia in care Basescu a tras toate ouale intr-un singur cos cu gazoductul Nabucco angajandu-se ca Romania numai asta va accepta pentru ca asa s-a angajat Europa si Germania sa sustina? Dupa care Germania trage teapa tuturor si face conducta de gaz direct de la rusi (pentru noi nu e bine daca avem relatii mai stranse cu rusii caci vezi doamen am fi antieuropeni) iar noi ramanem cu ochii in soare caci Soth Stream ocoleste Romania fiindca toti ceilalti care "s-au angajat sa faca Nabucco" si-au aranjat altfel treaba? Si noi suntem prea tampiti, recunosc. Sa spuna Germania ca nu suntem in stare sa acoperim granitele cand sistemul e facut de EADS, adica de ei? Cat de tare e asta? - Forgot to say in the "EU bani" that i woul be more concerned in billions poured into Greece, Ireland or Spain to cover what? Scam, high corruption or just stupidity? Let's compare the amount of cash went into those black holes. Why are greeks more "reliable" tha romanians or bulgarians ? We did not "benefit" of such huge funds.There are more resonable doubts that EU are more scared about RO and BG in Schengen because in fact Greece is not prepared to cover full security of the borders since they did not have, till now, direct land borders with the other Schengen member states just like Iceland. At a tv show some days ago, the former police chief Pavel Abraham told that if we look at statistics therea are much mor illegal imigrants in Schengen states that are in Romania. And we should also say that in Romania we catch more Italian mobsters that Italians do in Italy.
When coming back to Iceland, this a good example of advantege of nor being members of EU. They prefered to cut evil from the ground and not to spend public money to cover the holes created by ... who? By Romanian corrupt politicians probably. See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JqHjHyD-oAQ
I believe you mix things here. What has Nastase with border control !??
On the other hand, UK should be as stupid as we are since they do not want to get in Shengen agreement. This is a matter of pride as Corlatean said. It is humiliating for us, for me as a simple citizen, to be treated as a second hand citizen of EU. If Nastase is really a problem therefore we should get out of EU for good. And we should since we are treated as "migrants" and not citizens. This is the issue here. And of course, also about what they said related to the money we spent - one billion euros from the national budget to make the borders secure for Shengen standards. Money that went to a french-german enterprise in fact as i understand from various declarations. What are we? The rabbit from the famous joke whith the the wolf asking for cigarettes? Mereu n-avem sapca cum s-ar spune pe romaneste.
I fully support this government position. We are ready but just not begging anymore, let them tell us when they feel like. I believe some romanian veto may be also used sometime in the future. We should look more carefully in the negotiated treaties and ask for the same rights as any other citizen or private enterprise in EU. You know, they slaughter horses in other countries also but aparently we would be always the only ones to be blamed. I do not want to be a part of a EU that smiles when looking at me but thinks of me as a criminal when nobody pays attention. A EU that keeps a weasel like Basescu in office through political pressure despite the huge expression of popular will and afterwards claims democracy. Do you think that special permits for EU CITIZENS from Romania to work in some EU countries - against the very essence of EU - are related also to the corruptiona of Nastase? Don't buy that.
What the Germans say now comes straight from a Romanian fable ("Cainele si catelul") : "noi vrem egalitate dar nu pentru catei!"