Another cold blooded murder committed by a Romanian immigrant in Italy triggered the immediate response of the Italian government, which instantly announced that expelling immigrants will be made a lot easier from now on.

Problems similar to those found in Romania - such as crime and corruption - are taken seriously by the EU, countries in the Western Balkans seeming further and further from a possible accession to the Union.

Roma immigrant of Romanian origin Nicolae Romulus Mailat raped and killed the wife of an Italian Navy officer, Giovanna Reggiani. He was arrested a few hours later, after a Gypsy in his group told the Police she saw him dumping the body in a ditch.

Rome mayor Walter Veltroni, expressed his discontent later that day on Wednesday: "These are not immigrants who came here to live, but a type who have the crime as main characteristic. I can't help mentioning that, when 75% of all the people arrested come from the same country, there is a problem".

Romanian PM Tariceanu had a phone conversation with Italian PM Romano Prodi. According to AFP, Prodi asked Tariceanu for immediate coordinated actions against crime. Prodi also announced that policies in favor of expelling EU citizens who committed crimes on Italian soil will harden.

Tariceanu decided to send to Rome a team of experts to support the actions of Italian authorities against crimes committed by Romanian citizens, Evenimentul Zilei informs.

Meanwhile, back home, a new scandal is about to burst. Health Minister Eugen Nicolaescu, is accused of lacking any sensibility when it comes to children suffering from cancer. At the moment, there are no statistics referring to the number of new cases or the number of children requiring treatment.

"We can't satisfy everybody at the highest level", said Nicolaescu, according to Evenimentul Zilei

In the Balkans region, problems similar to the one Romania has are about to prevent the states from joining the European Union. The annual report of the Brussels European Commission. „Financial Times” and „Dnevnik”, quoting the report, underline the fact that corruption, organized crime and inter-ethnic conflicts continue to delay reforms.

Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania seem to have less and less chances to join the European Union, Gandul reads.

Meanwhile, Romania president Traian Basescu acts as if he runs the entire anti-graft show. In a TV intervention last night, Basescu has called Justice Minister Tudor Chiuariu "a young mobster with an attitude".

Basescu also claimed that Transport Minister Ludovic Orban (brother of the European Commissioner Leonard Orban) may be the next member of the government investigated by the anti-graft prosecutors, Jurnalul National informs.

Another prove that politics is not a fair game: governing Liberals and the main Opposition party, Social Democrats (PSD) share the same PR expertise, with strings being pulled by the same Dan Andronic, a controversial former journalist, Cotidianul found out.

Thus, it doesn't come as a surprise the fact that Romanians are among the most unhappy Europeans. Only 9% of Romanians and 8% of Bulgarians say they're happy, compared to an European average of 26% and peaks like Ireland, with 46%.

But then, of course, the poverty threshold is considered 61 euros per month in Romania, 797 euros in France and 1424 euros in Luxembourg, Romania Libera reminds.