Emil Boc's Democrats are very scared at the messages expressed by EU officials Jose Manuel Barroso and Olli Rehn and they are ready to put up with the cultural autonomy which the UDMR (Democrat Union of Magyars in Romania) is promoting within the law project on national minorities' status. Sources from the PD (Democrat Party) say the Democrats are considering the idea to gradually put up with the much controversial cultural autonomy, set in chapter 5 of this status "in order to please Europe and not to fuel dissension with the UDMR." All of a sudden the PD has turned from the enemy of autonomy into a submissive negotiator with Marko Bela's UDMR. During Monday's meeting of Coalition leaders, the UDMR representatives obsessively invoked the EU's so-called "demands" and pressed the Democrats to agree to the making of a joint commission to decide on the establishing of education institutions teaching in minorities' native tongues and cultural institutions, as well as into the naming and dismissing of officials for such institutions. Solutions for compromise UDMR deputy Kelemen Hunor explained: "The PD negotiated with us on Monday and agreed to compromise. The Democrats will agree to the making of a joint commission, made up of representatives of minorities and of the Romanian Executive. The Commission will decide to name and dismiss the officials of schools and cultural institutions." On the other hand, Hunor said the UDMR, the PD and the PNL (National Liberal Party) had agreed to support several articles included in minorities' status in deputies' juridical commission. He explained: "The PD and the PNL members in the commission will go for articles 31,32,33,34,35. We need some more debate on the National Council for Cultural Autonomy. I am convinced we will reach a compromise solution and I have noticed that the PD is open to negotiations. We won't give up the Councils and cultural autonomy, we will reach compromise." It shows the Democrats are about to shake hands with the UDMR representatives. After delaying talks with the UDMR for several months, as cultural autonomy has been a real apple of discord for Coalition members, the Democrats are putting up with the UDMR's claims with no comments. Kelemen Hunor even expressed trust that the following week the PD and the UDMR would find a way to agree to cultural autonomy and make clear the theoretical attributions of the National Council for Cultural Autonomy. He assured us: "We'll settle this next week." (...) Stuck in the Chamber of Deputies National minorities' status got stuck in deputies' commissions because of the Democrats and Dan Voiculescu's Conservatives. Deputies failed to pass articles in this law, since the leaders of parliamentary groups in the Coalition had reached no decision on it. The European Commission's monitoring report on Romania reiterates persisting difficulties related to minorities' status and cultural autonomy. Although the report does not analyze national minorities issues and despite the recommendations in the Moscovici Report released late last year, the law on minorities is part of the "priority news" chapter. EU representatives Manuel Barroso and Olli Rehn, who have just visited Bucharest, pointed to three urgent legislative matters: the law on finance for political parties, the law to check on statements of personal properties and the law on national minorities. The leaders of the PNL-PD Alliance have recently been making optimistic statements in favor of minorities' status. It actually shows that talks with the UDMR are in progress. PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu mentioned the present context, describing it as favorable to the idea that the Senate should pass the law: "Coalition members have talked about it many a time. It seems to me that right now it is likely that this law on minorities should pass." After the release of the European Commission's monitoring report, the UDMR has taken up the issue one more time, but more passionately than ever. Whether by coincidence or not, the Democrats too seem to be more understanding as far as cultural autonomy is concerned, although this is a claim very dear to Marko Bela's UDMR.

Razvan GHEORGHE