With the national football team qualifying to EURO 2008, most newspapers fail to bring any more news on Thursday. The fact that the European Commission opens the infringement procedures against Romania on Environmental issues passes almost invisible, just like the law draft for uninominal vote.

Romanians will vote directly for their favorite candidates, still parties will benefit from a compensation system, Evenimentul Zilei explains.

In case the law draft approved by the Electoral Code Commission is approved by the Parliament, Romania will have 42 electoral regions - the 41 counties, plus Bucharest. Each county will have uninominal colleges for the Senate (62) and the House of Deputies (145).

Each party has the right to suggest only one candidate for each college. In case the party doesn't reach the 5% of the votes threshold, the candidate who wins in a college is replaced by the one on the second place.

In other news:

- The European Commission announced on Wednesday that the infringement procedures are opened against Romania on the chapter referring to environmental issues. Romania failed to respect the biodiversity regulations and didn't establish protected areas for wild birds, Jurnalul National reads.

- Transport Minister Ludovic Orban studies a memorandum issued b y his ministry, in which the expenses demanded by the Bechtel highway and the implications of breaking the contract are discussed, Cotidianul has as main headline.

- The poll turning Social Democrat Mircea Geoana into a political star over night caused the resignation of general manager Bogdan Teodorescu, the head of the poll institute that conducted the research, same Cotidianul reads.

- Adrian Sarbu, owner of Romania's largest private TV station, ProTV, was named chief of operations (COO) at the US-based Central European Media Enterprises (CME). The group has a market value of 3.5 billion dollars, Gandul informs.