The presentation by the Justice Ministry of the new draft codes and procedural laws was the starting point for major debates in the political and media communities. Also worth mentioning is that the strengths and weaknesses of the Ministry’s drafts have been hijacked by political leaders, who are ready to plead for or against the criminalisation of certain deeds, and to mount small-scale media crusades... 

This year we celebrate 20 years since the fall of communist regimes in Eastern Europe. An anniversary that deserves a look back. Have states in this part of the world become established democracies? Are they fully integrated in the European Union structure? Unfortunately, both questions tend to have negative ans­wers. East-European coun­tri­es are among the most affected by the global crisis. The... 

Now that parties have wrapped up their candidate lists, we can see how they relate to both the European Parliament, and their own voters. At first sight, both the Democrats, and the Social Democrats seem to have been professional about it: they have come up with relatively balanced lists, with top names that are domestically and internationally relevant. Moreover, the Democrats have skilfully dodged... 

John Helmer is the longest continuously serving foreign correspondent in Russia, and the only western journalist to direct his own bureau independent of single national or commercial ties. He first set up his bureau in 1989, making him today the doyen of the foreign press corps in Russia. Born and educated in Australia, then at Harvard University, Helmer has also been a professor of political science,... 

Data for the fourth quarter of 2008 indicate that the Romanian economy has started to decelerate, and the question is whether we are in for a soft landing or a hard landing. The decrease of the growth rate is unexpectedly severe (6.2%), and figures are consistent with the decrease in the revenues collected to the state budget in the first two months of the year, i.e. by 8.68% and 8% respectively.... 

Pedro Fuentes Cid had fought for the liberation of Cuba to free its people from under the corrupted hands of the dictator Batista. Soon he had realized that Castro had betrayed the revolution and was a tyrant. One day while he getting from a friends house the army fired over a hundred shoots into his car as he returned fire. In the end he said he could not believe he lived because there were over... 

The Report of the Presidential Commission analyzing the Romanian political and constitutional regime is, without doubt, one of the important topics on the political and media agenda these days. While amending the Constitution is not a new theme in the recent dynamics of the political space, today it is of particular interest, given the hints that it may be turned into a central topic in the President’s... 

Romania’s accession to the European Union on January 1, 2007, is a turning point whose importance is comparable to that of the 1989 Revolution. It is a confirmation of the ideals of the 1989 Revolution, and at the same time another inaugural moment in the history of the Romanians. While in December 1989 the Ceauşescus’ dictatorship was ousted, and the communist repressive system with it, January... 

Small country citizens always have the complex of comparing or contrasting themselves with the citizens of large, powerful states. Romanians are no exception. After the Americans chose the change, some domestic political leaders already talk about the need for a RO Obama in Cotroceni. With every new election in Romania, we need a change. In the presidential election, no president has managed to win... 

For nearly two decades, the figure of Patriarch Aleksey II has been an intrinsic part of what is called Russia after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. He was the start of a new era, succeeding a revival of the Russian Church, the reintegration of its social agenda and a recovery of its influence abroad. He was an active presence in the life of social, cultural and even political life of Russia,...