Dan Alexe
Dan Alexe has been România Libera's Brussels correspondent for several years. He writes for the European and international pages and also for the literary and culture section.
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Articles by this author
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Corruption
Who really runs Romania anyway?
9 November 2010EUobserver.com Brussels -
European Parliament
"Westerners" remain the masters of invective
9 March 20101România libera Bucharest -
European Commission
The good, the bad, and Barroso
10 February 20101România libera Bucharest -
26 November 2009România libera Bucharest
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Czech Republic
Cheap and cheerful culture
29 May 20091România libera Bucharest
Published transcripts of wiretapped conversations between media moguls, politicians and journalists are revealing the incestuous world of Romanian politics. 
We were inured to the foul mouths of populist MEPs from the new member states who took their seats in Strasbourg last June. But they can’t hold a candle to their Western European counterparts, recounts România liberă.
Having received a green light from the European Parliament on 09 February, the new European Commission is now about to take office. However, România libera complains its functioning may be hampered by a lack of transparency, which surrounded the selection of future commissioners, and the overlapping roles they have been assigned. 
In recent months a series of scoops in the European press have unearthed widespread abuse of taxpayers’ money by MPs and ministers in several member countries. As UK and Italian politicos continue to be pilloried, the European Parliament has started putting its own house in order. 
The Czech Republic has one of Europe’s lowest culture budgets. Despite this, a new generation of artists that has risen to prominence since the collapse of Communism means that Czech culture continues to be influential at a global level.