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"The government has pushed our judges over the edge," exclaims Cotidianul. Having contracted a €12.95 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund this spring, the Romanian state has to make good on a pledge to cut civil service pay, and the measure has now been extended to include judges' salaries. Leading with the headline, "Say goodbye to the rule of law!" the Bucharest daily is concerned that "the financial crisis will have a negative impact on the administration of justice — judges' pay will soon will soon be on a par with salaries paid to auxiliary staff in government ministries."
In the wake of the axing of their "bonus for work-related stress" in July, "judges are going to lose 23% of their current income," explains the daily. As a mark of protest, the judges plan to restrict their work to international and child-related cases from 1st September. They are also threatening to block preparations for the presidential election, which is scheduled for November.
A conversation with investigative reporters Stefano Valentino and Giorgio Michalopoulos, who have dissected the dark underbelly of green finance for Voxeurop and won several awards for their work.
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