Too Much Money in State Accounts: Romania Supports Independent Press in Belarus

There is too much money in the Romanian state accounts, it seems. On Friday, December 24, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Romania took a rather strange decision by sending money to support the press in Belarus, a decision only justified by the Christmas spirit.

According to a press release, the Romanian Foreign Minister offered 120,000 EUR to civil society and the independent press in Belarus. By doing that, Romania hopes for supporting consolidation initiatives of democracy and the respect of human rights in Belarus, the press release says.

All the funds were granted through the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) organization.

Apart from the good intentions of this initiative, as we cannot argue when the independent press is supported by any means, one cannot help asking how much money Romania has if it affords to send money abroad. Also, one cannot help wondering why Romania chose to help a former soviet state during the complicated context of the Russian-Ukrainian cold conflict near the Romanian border.

Two main questions derive from this observation:

• How much money does Romania spend each year on such actions abroad?
• What are the countries whom Romania supports by sending funds to the independent press?

One good news derives from this Governmental extravagance, though. Now, the Bucharest and Timisoara city residents will undoubtedly get warmer in their cold apartments, thinking about how Romania helps the independent journalism in Belarus.