SUMMIT – The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will be
attending the 4th Summit of the Council of Europe, held on Tuesday
and Wednesday in Reykjavik and organized under the aegis of the Icelandic
presidency of the Council of Europe. According to the Romanian Presidency, the
summit will highlight the role the Council of Europe plays in the current
geopolitical context marked by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The
Council of Europe promotes and monitors the observance of democratic standards,
human rights and the rule of law. It was one of the first international
organizations that responded to the war in Ukraine by excluding the Russian
Federation.
EDUCATION LAWS
– The draft education laws have today been submitted to the Senate’s special
committees, which are expected to issue an opinion. Tomorrow the laws will be
debated in the Education Committee. A final vote on the education laws is
scheduled for May 22 in the Senate, the decision-making body in this case.
According to Education Minister Ligia Deca, the laws seek to prevent and combat
school dropout and functional illiteracy, to implement a pupil-oriented
education, to ensure safety in schooling units and provide teachers with better
training and support opportunities and observe professional ethics standards.
Ruling coalition parties say the laws will reform the education system, but the
opposition has voiced criticism, arguing the laws fail to provide solutions to
the problems of the education system and represent a failure of the Educated
Romania project endorsed by the presidency.
WAR IN UKRAINE
– France will train and equip a number of Ukrainian regiments with dozens of
armored vehicles and light tanks, the presidents of France and Ukraine,
Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sunday in Paris. France
will also channel its efforts to bolster Ukraine’s anti-air defenses, the joint
statement also reads. In diplomatic terms, the two presidents have argued in
favor of introducing new sanctions against Russia and of continuing to
strengthen ties between Ukraine, NATO and the EU. Ukraine has a right to make
its own security choices and France supports this country’s bid to join the
Euro-Atlantic Community, the French president pointed out. Volodymyr Zelenskyy
visited Paris on Sunday evening as part of a mini tour of Europe which also
included stopovers in Italy and Germany.
AIRCRAFT -
The MiG-21 LanceR aircraft of the Romanian Air Forces carried out their last
flights on Monday in a ceremony held in several airbases across Romania. The 85
Air Base in Bacău (east) is also now open to visitation. The withdrawal of
MiG-21 LanceR jets was voted by the country’s Supreme Defense Council last year
with a view to speeding up the purchase of F-16 jets.
ELECTION IN TURKEY – The president of Turkey’s Electoral Council said that Conservative
president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has won over 49% of Sunday’s presidential vote
with the majority of the ballot boxes counted. His opposition rival,
Social-Democrat Kemal Kilicdaroglu,
grabbed some 44% of the vote. Erdoğan said he is clearly leading in the
elections, but remained open to the possibility of a runoff vote in case it is
necessary, AFP reports. The opposition candidate, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, promised
to win the second round of elections scheduled for May 28. For the first time
in his 20-year mandate, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will have to rely on the
presidential run-off to secure a new term in office.
FESTIVAL -
The European Film Festival starts today in Bucharest after the editions
previously held in Timișoara and Oravița (west). Sophie Barthes’s The Pod
Generation will open the festival, a winner at the Sundance Film festival this
year. Running until May 23, the European Film Festival will include films
premiered in Berlin, Venice, at Sundance or Locarno, many of which were
released this year. (VP)