The presidential race is on

Traian Basescu
The current Romanian president (57) graduated from the Mircea cel Batran Institute of Civil Marine, Faculty of Navigation, Commercial Section, in 1976 and took Advanced Management Courses for the Maritime Transport Industry at the Norwegian Academy in 1995. After working as merchant navy captain and chief of Navrom in Anvers, Belgium, he entered public life in 1991 becoming minister of transportation. He held the same position between 1996 and 2000 and then went on to become general mayor of Bucharest until 2004. He is now running for a second term as president. The economic issues that make up his election platform include:
reform of the pension system
joining the Euro zone in 2014
the fiscal responsibility law
simpler fiscal legislation
the rapid use of EU funds
start of works on reactors 3 and 4 for the Cernavoda nuclear unit
changes in the Labor Code to achieve a more flexible workforce

Mircea Geoana
The head of the Social Democratic Party and current president of the Senate (51) is a graduate of the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, the Mechanics Department, and of the University of Bucharest, Law School in the early 90s. Holder of a PhD in World Economics, Geoana served as the Romanian ambassador to the United States of America between 1996 and 2000. He was the foreign affairs minister between 2000 and 2004, after serving as president of the OSCE in 2001. His economic reform proposals include:
the creation of the Romanian Investments Fund
the Fiscal Responsibility Law
a 20 percent tax for revenues above RON 3,000 a month
taxation of exceptional profits until the crisis is over, progressive taxation
phasing in taxation payments for SMEs over five years
no taxes on reinvested profit
different VAT on essential goods and services
national body to attract EU funds and regional bodies to help spend them
state system to finance agricultural investments
strategic investments in energy: Cernavoda project as a priority, renewable energy
investments in transport infrastructure
joining the Euro zone in 2014
investments in broadband internet infrastructure

Crin Antonescu
The current president of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Antonescu (50) graduated in history and philosophy from the University of Bucharest in 1985. After working as a history teacher and museum curator in the 80s and the early 90s, he joined the political scene and has been an MP since 1996. His proposals for the economic revival of the country include:
slashing the flat tax to 10 percent
reduction of VAT to 15 percent
lowering social contributions by 50 percent
reductions of 5 to 10 percent for the on-time payment of taxes
joining the Euro zone as a priority
reduction of budget expenses
stimulus for the creation of jobs in underdeveloped areas through financial packages for SMEs
liberalization of financial markets to ensure the free flow of capital

Sorin Oprescu
The current mayor of Bucharest (57) was a surgeon, having graduated from the Medicine Faculty in 1976 and held various management positions in Bucharest hospitals. He entered politics in 1995 when he became a member of the Social Democrat Party, and has served as senator since 2000. However, he quit the PSD to run for the Bucharest City Hall as an independent and won last year. He is also running as an independent candidate for the presidential elections. Oprescu has recently launched his campaign but has yet to propose economic reforms.

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