Concerns about EU accession planned for 1st January 2007″ “” “
“We are in an extremely delicate phase for Europe. After the French and Dutch ‘no’, the hand of the eurosceptics is strengthened”, says Cristian Preda , 39 years old, head of the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Bucharest. He warns of “the risk of slowing down or arresting the process of integration”. From his office at the university he maintains contacts with colleagues all over Europe and follows with apprehension the process of his country’s gradual rapprochement with the EU: official accession is scheduled for 1st January 2007. The faculty he heads, created in 1991, operates in three languages Romanian, English and French -, relies on a staff of young lecturers who have studied abroad prior to 1989 (Preda himself spent many years in France) and also accepts students from other countries. Preda explains to Gianni Borsa, SIR correspondent in Bucharest: “Opening ourselves to Europe is an intellectual and organizational challenge for us”. France and Holland have said “no” to the Constitution… “I’m disappointed by this result. I hoped that in the end the French would change their mind. Now I see two possible developments. One is positive: the member states of the EU will together seek a strategy to revive the idea of Europe and the reasons for integration, and convince citizens in it. The other is negative: a reaction of opposition that will be to the benefit neither of Europe nor of the individual countries”. How do Romanians see EU accession? “Europe, after the fall of Ceausescu and the Communist regime, had been interpreted as a desirable goal. 80% of citizens had said they were favourable to entry into the European Union. Today, on the contrary, at a time when the country’s process of meeting the conditions set by the EU is more or less complete, new doubts are emerging. The press often underlines problems that would have an impact on Romania. Recently, for example, a lot of emphasis was placed on the fact that Brussels requires the registration of livestock, whereas that would be impossible for our rather backward type of agriculture. In fact every obstacle can be overcome if we share the European ideal and grasp the many advantages we will enjoy with full membership. I am astonished, on the other hand, that the real problems of the country remain behind the scenes…”. What are the most significant of these? “First the administration of justice. There’s still a need to modernise the legislative system, overhaul the laws we inherited from the Ceausescu regime and speed up judicial procedures. But, above all, we must dismantle this system that seems designed on purpose not to administer justice! Bringing a suit is very costly and that’s why many citizens renounce defending their own rights and interests. And then there is a perverse agreement between advocates and judges, with the manipulated outcome of many trials. It has now been decided, to cite another example, that the coupling between a court case and the judge called to preside over it should occur by the drawing of lots. The minister, Mrs Monica Macovei, has good intentions, but each time she tries to intervene they accuse her of wishing to politicise the system of justice. In recent years, precisely due to the fact that the country needs to respect the criteria for EU membership, some progress has been made; but there’s still a great deal more to be done”. In what other fields, placed under EU scrutiny, do you hope for improvements? “I would cite the public administration, which needs to be made more efficient and at the service of the citizen; its internal contradictions and delays need to be overcome. Suffice it to say that in March the government decided to increase the stipends of professors: the payment order, but not the money, was transferred to the University”. So? “So no increase. Do you know that a university researcher earns on average 150 euros per month? And you wonder why our youth have such an urge to emigrate? Indeed another problem I would point out is the mass emigration of Romanians to Spain, Italy, Germany and other countries in search of work and a decent livelihood. The mobility of the population also takes the form of the flight from the countryside to the city and vice versa. The result is that in the bigger cities, such as Bucharest, Costanza and Timisoara, a serious shortage of housing is emerging. There are also marked imbalances between the capital and the Moldavian region, in the north-east. Against 4 million workers, we have 6 million pensioners and a high number of unemployed”. What opportunities can the EU offer Romania? “As I said before, the Union obliges us to undertake reforms, to develop the country. We need to grasp that all this represents an opportunity for us, to improve the quality of life. But it requires a change of mentality, both on the part of politicians and institutions, and on the part of citizens”.
