Capitalist folk-tales

Date: 13/02/1997

The citizens of Romania are tuning in twice weekly to a radio soap opera totally funded by the Phare programme and designed to help them cope with the transition to a market economy.

It is based on The Archers, an everyday tale of country folk which veteran BBC radio listeners might recall was originally put on air to help teach post-war Britons about farming techniques.

Piata Rotunda ('Round Square') is set in an apartment block in Bucharest, and tells of the lives and loves of its residents - and, presumably, their transition to a market economy.

Now there is pressure on the EU to provide funds for similar educational projects on the radio in other languages: Vietnamese is a possibility, with plans being floated to develop a series about dealing with a post-Communist society.

It could be exciting - The Archers has now moved on to something steamier than cow dung and ploughed fields.

Stayed tuned Romania, it's bound to hot up sooner or later!