Thread by @DanielaGabor

Last week, Austria blocked Romania's entrance into Schengen group, for domestic (far) right politics.
Fascinating, the outrage in Romania is now explicitly against Austrian capital and its vested capture of Romanian political elites across political spectrum.

This is outrageous legacy of #shocktherapy in Romania - Austrian Kapital has taken over strategic state-owned assets at firesale prices during the 1990s, from banks to oil and gas reserves.

Take Petrom - the largest oil and gas producer in Southeast Europe - sold by Social Democrats in power to OMV Austria in 2004.
Days before privatisation contract signed, Romanian government passed control of country's oil and gas reserves to Petrom, a nice little gift to OMV.

At the time, the press reported that OMV acquired Petrom at half price due to faulty valuation (same privatisation daylight robbery as with largest commercial bank BCR sold to Austrian Erste).

privatisation contract failed to impose price controls so Romanian petrol currently more expensive than petrol in Austria.

As my dad says 'from our 300- 500 euros pension directly into coffers of Austrian Kapital'.
OMV Romania made 2bn Euros in profit in first 9 months of 2022

Now press maps entanglements of political elite w OMV, mind-blowing
1. Husband of former S&D PM - OMV employee
2. Wife of current Energy Minister - OMV distributor
3. Wife of former Romanian MI6 president

jurnalul.ro/special-jurnal…

4 Wife of former deputy PM in liberal gov (USR) - OMV employee
5. Former head of National Energy Authority and former Energy Minister - now both on OMV supervisors board (hello revolving doors)

The organised robbery unleashed by shock therapy in favour of Western European capital and it's quiet support from Western governments is for us Romanians nothing more than a continuation of Austro-Hungarian empire by economic means

(and a reminder that Austrian Kapital is also razing our forests)

The politics of boycott fascinating: Romanian state-owned companies boycotting Austrian capital, moving bank accounts to Romanian-owned banks, and ceasing contracts w Petrom
m.ziare.com/boicot-banci-a…

Here is a photo of kids in North Transylvania today singing Christmas carols. Their great grandparents were born under the Austro-Hungarian empire. It will be on my generation if they end up wiping old Austrian asses, like their parents do today.

And there is of course dignity in caring for the elderly, but the Austrian state and trade unions (!!) systematically refuse equal rights for the thousands of Romanian women carers working there.