Radio România Internațional

Tag: ministry

April 19, 2023

VISIT The president of Romania
Klaus Iohannis is carrying on his visit to Brazil today. He travels to Rio
de Janeiro, where he has meetings scheduled with the deputy governor and the deputy
mayor of the city, and will pay tribute to the World War II heroes. On Monday, Mr.
Iohannis met with his counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The two officials
signed a joint statement on the development of bilateral relations. Klaus
Iohannis assured his counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of Romania’s
support for advancing the EU – Brazil agenda through projects designed to
benefit citizens. This is the first stage of the Romanian president’s
south-American tour, which also includes Chile and Argentina. The goal is to rekindle
the top-level dialogue with these countries and to present Romania’s position,
as an EU and NATO member, with respect to the war launched by Russia in
neighbouring Ukraine.

AGRICULTURE A
simple motion tabled by the opposition against the agriculture minister Petre
Daea has been dismissed in the Chamber of Deputies today. The motion was
discussed in parliament on Tuesday. The initiators argued that
Daea
was directly responsible for the steep rise in the prices of basic foodstuffs, for
the poor handling of the swine fever and avian influenza crises, and also for
the failure to secure EU funding for the Romanian farmers affected by the grain
imports from Ukraine. The agriculture minister said none of the allegations
were based on actual figures. On the other hand, he is set to discuss with his
Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Solskyi today, about the situation created by the duty-free
Ukrainian grain imports to the EU. Last week, Poland and Hungary, followed by
Slovakia, announced a temporary ban on these imports. Poland also suspended
grain transit on its territory, but following talks between the two parties an
agreement was reached on Tuesday to resume transit, provided that the grains
are not sold in that country. Hungary also announced that Ukrainian grain
shipments would be sealed and monitored while on Hungarian territory. In
Bucharest, the Social Democratic Party intends to persuade the ruling coalition
to temporarily suspend these imports, in order to protect Romanian farmers, in
the absence of sufficient compensation from the European Commission. Brussels
on the other hand finds the measure unacceptable and has called for coordinated
decisions, while promising a new aid package for the affected farmers.

ART Since the
start of the Timisoara – 2023 European Capital of Culture programme this
February, over 12,000 Romanian and foreign art lovers have visited the National
Art Museum in Timişoara, western Romania, to see the first retrospective
exhibition devoted to Victor Brauner. Probably no other exhibition in the
history of the museum has attracted so many visitors as ‘Victor Brauner: Inventions
and magic did in only two months, the museum director Filip Petcu said on
Monday. Some 100 works, including paintings, drawings, sketches, etchings and
documents by the Romanian surrealist artist are on display in Timişoara. Of
these, 40 are on loan from the Pompidou Centre in Paris, while others have been
made available by Saint-Etienne Metropole, Musee Cantini Marseilles and other
museums or private collections in Romania and abroad.

FINANCE One of
the indicators taken into account by Fitch Agency when improving Bucharest’s
long-term issuer default rating was the adjustment of expenditure to revenues, the
mayor Nicuşor Dan announced on Wednesday. In a Facebook post, he says that the
municipality’s efforts to achieve financial stability are beginning to yield
fruit, given that Fitch has improved Bucharest’s standalone credit profile from
‘BBB+’ to ‘A’, a class higher than the national rating, which means a good
capacity to meet financial obligations. On April 15, Fitch Ratings reconfirmed
Bucharest’s ‘BBB-‘ ratings for long-term foreign and local currency debt and
upgraded the outlook from negative to stable. Last month Fitch had also
reconfirmed Romania’s BBB-/F3 rating for long and short-term foreign currency
debt and upgraded the outlook from negative to stable. With a population of approx.
2.16 million, Bucharest accounts for over 30% of
Romania’s economy, and its local wealth level is more than four times the
national average.

USA
Fox News, the TV channel of choice of US Conservatives, has agreed to pay USD
787.5 million to the voting technology company Dominion, after a last-minute
settlement to avoid a lawsuit concerning its coverage of the 2020 presidential
elections, France Presse reports. Dominion had originally claimed USD 1.6 bln.
The settlement saves the pearl of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire from what the New
York Times described as the defamation trial of the century. The lawsuit was generally
viewed in the US as a test for the limits of the freedom of expression
guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution, and of the fight
against misinformation. (AMP)

19 April 2023
May 28, 2022 UPDATE

TALKS The prime minister of Romania Nicolae Ciucă Saturday received a delegation of the US Senate headed by Senator Robert Portman. PM Ciucă presented the situation of Ukrainian exports and of Romanias efforts to support the food security of the affected countries, particularly those in the Middle East and Northern Africa, and the viability of Ukraines economy. He mentioned support options including the ports of Constanţa and Galaţi, navigation on the Danube to central Europe, railway and road transport. A large part of the talks was devoted to Russias invasion in Ukraine and the need for concrete support for this country. Senator Robert Portman thanked Romania for its efforts and highlighted his interest in the country, considering that the state he is representing, Ohio, is home to a large community of Romanians and an important Ukrainian community.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu was received on Friday by the president of Tukey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the sidelines of a trilateral security meeting that brought together the foreign ministers of Romania, Poland and Turkey in Istanbul. Erdogan commended Romanias and Polands management of the humanitarian crisis entailed by Russias aggression in Ukraine, while Bogdan Aurescu highlighted Turkeys role at the Black Sea. The Romanian foreign minister also voiced support for NATOs open door policy and for the accession of Sweden and Finland. Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bogdan Aurescu also emphasised the relevance of the bilateral strategic partnership signed in 2011, in the current geopolitical circumstances.

CYBER ATTACK The English version of the website of the Romanian defence ministry has been attacked by hackers. The DDOS cyber-attack took place on Friday night, and experts with the ministrys cyber defence unit managed to restore the website in around 30 minutes. The ministry says the website does not contain sensible or classified databases and the attack did not affect other services or networks of the institution. Investigations are under way to identify the source of the attack. A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server, by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of Internet traffic.

RADIO CHIŞINAU The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation issued a news release stating it was confident the decision to ban the use of the name “Chişinău” in the name of the radio station Radio Chişinău was a misunderstanding and it has reasons to believe the situation will be resolved. Radio Romania mentions that at Fridays meeting of the Chişinău City Council, a draft decision on the use of the name Chişinău was dismissed by a majority of Council members. The name of the city Chişinău was used by Radio Chişinău, a Radio Romania station, between 2011 and 2021, based on a similar validation procedure. Radio Romania emphasized that, should the situation continue, it will have to take all the necessary administrative and judicial steps to address it, to the benefit of its listeners in the Republic of Moldova. Previously, the Romanian foreign ministry said the decision of the Chişinǎu Council was unjustified, ungrounded and driven by political considerations.

FESTIVAL “Mogoşoaia Classic Fest” takes place this weekend at the Brâncovenesc Palace (near Bucharest), under the title “Cultures of the world.” The festival includes exhibitions, film screenings and performances, concerts. The music, fine arts, dance, images and traditions of 8 countries are showcased in the festival: Armenia, Spain, Hungary, Lithuania, Peru, Mexico, China and Romania.

TENNIS The Romanian Irina Begu Saturday qualified into the 8th-finals of the Roland Garros tournament, after defeating Leolia Jeanjean of France 6-1, 6-4, in the 3rd round. The round of 16 is the best performance for the Romanian player in Grand Slams. Begu is the only Romanian player left in the singles competition of this years tournament in Paris. (AMP)

28 May 2022
January 16, 2022 UPDATE

STRIKE Trade unionists in Romania’s education system are to go on a token
strike on Wednesday and cease classes for two hours in their schools. The
protesters have called for pay rises, for the allotment of 6% of the GDP to
education and the pay for the extra hours worked. Almost 100 trade unionists
from Romania’s education on Thursday picketed the government building and the
headquarters of the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party. The
protest on Thursday was their fourth in front of the government building. On
Saturday, the Day of National Culture in Romania, artists and organizers of
various events, mounted protests in Bucharest and Sibiu, in central Romania,
asking for compensations for their restricted activity during the pandemic. The
protesters have denounced the lack of coherent measures aimed at supporting the
sector of culture in Romania, severely affected in the past two years of
pandemic.

HANDBALL SCM Ramnicu Valcea, a women’s handball team from Romania, on
Sunday started off on their right foot with a clear home win 39-29 against the
Hungarian side Vaci NKSE in group D of the EHF European League. On Saturday in
group C of the same competition Magura Cisnadie, a women’s handball team from
central Romania lost away to the Danish side Herning-Ikast Handbold 31-28 while
in group B, CS Minaur Baia Mare from north-western Romania lost to German side
BBM Bietigheim 39-20. Also on Saturday, Romania’s champions CSM Bucharest
secured a 28-20 away win against Montenegrin side Buducnost Podgorica in the
Champions League. With 10 points out of nine games, the Romanians go up to the
group’s fourth position and are to meet French side Brest Bretagne in an away
game on January 19th and take on German side Borussia Dortmund at
home on January 22nd.

COVID-19 According to the latest figures released by authorities on
Sunday, 7595 new Covid-19 infections have been reported in the past 24 hours in
Romania, 60% more than a week ago. 28 Covid-related fatalities have been
reported. Experts believe the fifth wave of the pandemic is stronger than the
previous ones and is to reach its peak in Romania in the last week of January
or the first of February, when the number of daily cases is expected to go up
to 50 thousand. The interest of the Romanians in getting the jab is still low,
with only 36 hundred in the past 24 hours. Epidemiologists are urging the
people to get immunized because the vulnerable categories are at risk.

TENNIS Romania has five representatives on the main draw of Australian
Open, the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. Other Romanians have been
eliminated from the competition in the qualifiers. In the first round Simona
Halep, a former number one, will be up against Magdalena Frech of Poland, while
Sorana Cirstea will be playing Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, who has a
5-3 advantage in head-to-head matches. Another Romanian player, Irina Begu will
be up against Oceane Dodin of France. Jaqueline Cristian of Romania will be
playing Greet Minnen of Belgium and Gabriela Ruse will be meeting Jasmine Paolini
of Italy. British player Emma Raducanu, who has a Romanian father and is the
defending champion of the US Open will be playing Sloane Stephens of the USA.

JUSTICE The Ministry of Justice in Bucharest has completed a draft on
dismantling the Special Direction for investigating criminal offences within
the judiciary, SIIJ. The institution has announced in a communiqué that in the
following days it will submit the document for government and Parliament
approval. We recall that the activity of this special body has attracted
criticism from the European Commission, which says the SIIJ could be more
susceptible to interventions from outside than the Anti-corruption Directorate,
known in Romania as the DNA. The Justice Ministry has announced that it will
resume the process of amending the justice laws and the criminal codes so that
they can be approved by Parliament by the end of March. The Ministry of Justice
reiterates its support for the EU law and legislation stipulated by the Lisbon
Treaty and recognized by the Romanian constitution.

(bill)

16 January 2022
January 16, 2022

COVID-19 According to the latest figures released by authorities on
Sunday, 7595 new Covid-19 infections have been reported in the past 24 hours in
Romania, 60% more than a week ago. 28 Covid-related fatalities have been
reported. Experts believe the fifth wave of the pandemic is stronger than the
previous ones and is to reach its peak in Romania in the last week of January
or the first of February, when the number of daily cases is expected to go up
to 50 thousand. The interest of the Romanians in getting the jab is still low,
with only 36 hundred in the past 24 hours. Epidemiologists are urging the
people to get immunized because the vulnerable categories are at risk.

TENNIS Romania has five representatives on the main draw of Australian
Open, the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. Other Romanians have been
eliminated from the competition. In the first round Simona Halep, the world’s former number one, will be up against Magdalena Frech of Poland, while Sorana Cirstea
will be playing Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, who has a 5-3 advantage in
head-to-head matches. Another Romanian player, Irina Begu will be up against
Oceane Dodin of France. Jaqueline Cristian of Romania will be playing Greet
Minnen of Belgium and Gabriela Ruse will be meeting Jasmine Paolini of Italy. British
player Emma Raducanu, who has a Romanian father and is the defending champion
of the US Open will be playing Sloane Stephens of the USA.

HANDBALL CSM Bucharest, a women’s handball side from Romania secured a 28-20
away win against Montenegrin side Buducnost BEMAX Podgorica on Saturday night
in the Group A of the Champions League. The Romanians put on a good show and
clinched a well-deserved victory. On January 19th our handballers
will be up against French side Brest Bretagne and three days later against
Borussia Dortmund of Germany. Coached by the selector of the Romanian national
side, Adrian Vasile, CSM Bucharest have as their main goal to win all their
three games this month.

JUSTICE The Ministry of Justice in Bucharest has completed a draft on
dismantling the Special Direction for investigating criminal offences within
the judiciary, SIIJ. The institution has announced in a communiqué that in the
following days it will submit the document for government and Parliament
approval. We recall that the activity of this special body has attracted
criticism from the European Commission, which says the SIIJ could be more
susceptible to interventions from outside than the Anti-corruption Directorate,
known in Romania as the DNA. The Justice Ministry has announced that it will
resume the process of amending the justice laws and the criminal codes so that
they can be approved by Parliament by the end of March. The Ministry of Justice
reiterates its support for the EU law and legislation stipulated by the Lisbon
Treaty and recognized by the Romanian constitution.

(bill)

16 January 2022
Foreign Ministry discusses topical issues

Romania has ‘exceptionally good relations with Israel, which is a strategic partner to Bucharest, but it also has ‘very good relations with the Palestinian side. The statement was made on a private tv station by the foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu, who discussed the severe security situation in Israel and Gaza.

The Romanian diplomat firmly condemned the rocket attacks from the territory controlled by the Islamist group Hamas over civilian targets in Israel. “We have voiced our deep regret for the loss of human lives and the hopes that this will not happen again. Unfortunately, such situations still occur, the Romanian official said.

According to Aurescu, around 320-350 Romanian nationals, including people with dual citizenship, are currently in Gaza Strip, and the diplomatic missions in the region have been instructed to provide support to them, should such support be requested.

Apart from this most important international issue at the moment, the Romanian diplomacy chief also discussed the delicate topic of the visas still required for the Romanian citizens who want to travel to the US, in spite of the strong strategic partnership between Washington and Bucharest and the EU criticism of the US.

Bulgarians, Croatians, Cypriots and Romanians are the only EU citizens who need visas in order to enter the US, and the European Parliament has requested the Commission to activate the visa reciprocity mechanism and to suspend for one year the waiver of visa requirements for US citizens.

This however is not a file of special political and diplomatic nature, but rather a technical matter. Minister Bogdan Aurescu explained that Romanians still need visas for the US because the rejection rate of 9-10% of the total number of applications is higher than the 3% ceiling admitted under the US law. Romania meets all the other criteria stipulated by the American legislation, except for the one concerning the rejection rate.

This situation cannot be blamed on either the Romanian or the US authorities, but is related to the failure of some Romanian visa applicants to meet relevant requirements, Aurescu emphasised.

He added that he had discussed the matter with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. The two agreed that a joint Romanian-American information campaign is needed for the Romanian nationals who want to travel to the US, so as to make applicants seeking short-term stay visas in the US aware of the prerequisites for obtaining one. Those who find they do not meet these prerequisites might thus refrain from applying, and the rejection rate would therefore drop.

There have been initiatives in the US Congress regarding possible exceptions from the visa requirements for citizens of allied countries, but such initiatives have failed, the foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu also said. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

17 May 2021
March 3, 2020

HEARINGS The ministers nominated in PM designate Florin Cîţus cabinet are interviewed by the specialised parliamentary committees today, on Wednesday and Thursday, and the day of the investiture vote is to be chosen early next week. The only change compared to the Ludovic Orban Government is at the finance ministry, where former minister Cîţu has been replaced with Lucian Ovidiu Heiuş. The president of Save Romania Union, Dan Barna, says the Liberals have not asked explicitly for support for the new cabinet. The leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, Kelemen Hunor, says that no decision has been made yet as to endorsing the new government or not. Pro Romania MPs will attend the parliamentary sitting, but will vote against the cabinet, party leader Victor Ponta announced. The Social Democrats and ALDE were the only parties with which the PM designate has not discussed. The Peoples Movement Party decided to vote in favour of the Cîţu Cabinet. The latters nomination by president Klaus Iohannis came after the Constitutional Court found it unconstitutional for the president to designate the interim PM Ludovic Orban to form a new cabinet after being dismissed by Parliament through a no-confidence vote.

COVID-19 In Romania, 42 people are in quarantine centres and over 9,400 are under home monitoring, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Tuesday. So far 3 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Romania, one of whom has recovered and the other 2 are hospitalised and in a good state. Meanwhile, the National Emergency Committee has introduced strict quarantine rules for the people returning home from risk areas. The new coronavirus is now spreading a lot more quickly outside China than in the source country. Around 91,000 cases have been confirmed in over 70 countries worldwide. Of these, 48,000 patients recovered and over 3,100 died. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank announced they are ready to provide help, including emergency funds, for member states to tackle the difficulties caused by the quickly spreading epidemic.

VACCINATION The healthcare committee in the Chamber of Deputies unanimously voted the introduction of an amendment making immunisation mandatory. The Chamber of Deputies is to cast the decisive vote on the bill. Representatives of the Parents Alliance, of Pro Consumers Association and of the “Informed Decisions Association protested the current form of the bill, opposing the idea of compulsory vaccination. They believe each citizen must have the right to decide as concerns their own body. On the other hand, an association called Mothers for Mothers warns that vaccination saves lives and the body of scientific evidence in this respect goes back over a century.

INTERIOR MINISTRY The interim interior minister Marcel Vela has today presented the institutions annual report, and said in 2019 the work load of interior ministry staff was higher than in the previous year. Marcel Vela explained that 27 counties and the capital city Bucharest reported over 4% rises in street crime and crimes against persons and property. “The presidential election was well organised, with 30% fewer incidents in the first round and 54.18% fewer incidents in the second round than in 2014, Marcel Vela added. The National Police Union organised a protest concurrently with the meeting at the ministry headquarters. They demand the implementation of current regulations regarding salaries, and the payment of overdue benefits for the last 3 years.

UNEMPLOYMENT The January unemployment rate in Romania was 3.9%, down 0.1% since December, the National Statistics Institute announced in Tuesday. According to the institution, the estimated number of unemployed people in January was 350,000, which is lower than both the previous month and the corresponding month of 2019. Statistics also indicate that in the first month of the year the unemployment rate among men was 1% higher than among women.

ISRAEL The Israeli PM Beniamin Netanyahu claimed victory in the 3rd election within a year, held on Monday. With 90% of the votes counted, Netanyahus right-wing party Likud secured 35 out of the 120 seats in Parliament, as against 32 for Kahol Lavan, led by his challenger Benny Gantz. None of them however has the required majority to form a government. Netanyahu tried to secure his re-election while facing a corruption trial. In his address, Netanyahu promised to put an end to the Iranian nuclear threat, to build peace with moderate Arab countries, economic reforms, a defence pact with the USA, and also spoke about his proposal to annex settlements in the West Bank.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

3 March 2020
August 8, 2018 UPDATE

STRIKE – The employees of structures subordinated to the Romanian Ministry for Youth and Sports and national sports federations are on all-out strike as of Wednesday, after having picketed the Ministry for several days without receiving any response to their salary demands. They argue that they are unable to survive and even less so to support sports performances on monthly net salaries of around 290 euros. On the other side, Andrei Nourescu, adviser to the Youth and Sports Minister, says the Ministry has submitted repeated requests to the Labour Ministry, but that a pay raise in this sector is a long-term process, which might begin on January 1 with a 25% increase.

CINEMA – The village of Sfântul Gheorghe, in the Danube Delta, south-eastern Romania, Wednesday hosted further screenings as part of the “Anonimul International Independent Film Festival, including “The Secret of Happiness, directed by Vlad Zamfirescu. Taking part in the official competition are 6 Romanian and international feature films and 26 short films. Productions awarded in other festivals this year are also shown, while Q&A sessions and roundtables are organised on the sidelines of the festival. The Kazakh director Emir Baigazin will be the recipient of this years “Anonimul Trophy, for his contribution to the art of cinema.

FOOTBALL – Three Romanian sides are playing on Thursday away from home, in the first leg of the 3rd preliminary round of Europa League. Romanian vice-champions FCSB (formerly known as Steaua Bucuresti), take on Croatias Hajduk Split. Kicked out from the Champions League in the 2nd preliminary round, Romanian champions CFR Cluj are facing the Armenian side Alashkert, while the winners of Romanias Cup CSU Craiova are playing against RB Leipzig of Germany. The second leg is scheduled next week.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

8 August 2018
The Schoolbook Law, pending promulgation

The draft Schoolbook Law was endorsed by the Senate of Romania, which is the decision-making parliamentary body in this field, and the document will be sent to the President for promulgation.

The bill stipulates, among other things, that further to an assessment there will be 3 versions of the basic textbooks, and that the Education Ministry will be directly responsible for the quality of schoolbooks. Under the bill, as of 2020 each schoolbook will come in 4 formats: paper-based, digital, interactive, and a format for the visually impaired. Here is Liviu Pop, a Social Democrat Senator and chairman of the Education Committee:

Liviu Pop: “The new law does 3 things. First, it makes the Ministry of Education responsible in case schoolbooks do not reach students in due time. Secondly, it ensures a maximum of 3 textbook options for each subject, or, in case there are no participants in the schoolbook tenders, entrusts the Ministry with putting together a particular textbook. And thirdly, it introduces a new element, namely the schoolbooks for the visually impaired, which has never been done before in the Romanian education system.

The Opposition Senators criticised the draft, which, they say, will not ensure the quality of schoolbooks and will open the door for Education Ministry abuse. From the National Liberal Party, Senator Mario Oprea believes this law eliminates any kind of competition, and that the Ministry will have a monopoly on schoolbooks:

Mario Oprea: “We are against the essence of this initiative, which has nothing to do with any principle in use in European countries. What we expected from this bill was principles on which a modern education system could be built. As we can already predict, the centralised publication of schoolbooks will be non-transparent, bordering on the unlawful, and running against everything that the multiple education reforms in post-1989 Romania have been aimed at. The National Liberal Party cannot agree with this kind of education system for Romania.

Meanwhile, many teachers warn that the law will push the public education system 30 years back, forcing children to study the textbooks published by one publishing house alone, that of the Education Ministry. In turn, one of the best known textbook authors, Prof. Octavian Mandrut, has this year refused to submit a schoolbook draft, although children have been studying geography using his books for the past 20 years.

2017 data indicate that the Romanian schoolbook market reaches about 60 million euros, but only 6 million euros come from the public budget, with the balance covered by parents. Experts say the textbooks and the curricula are a burden to students, who work more than the normal adult working hours, and are overloaded with information. In turn, at the end of each school year parents hope that the next year will no longer be fraught with uncertainties regarding their childrens schoolbooks, and that families will no longer have to pay for these books.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

23 May 2018
Education Minister announces new middle school curriculum

The Romanian Education Minister Pavel Nastase has announced the new curriculum for the middle school, which lays more emphasis on acquiring new skills and less on accumulating knowledge. Minister Nastase has explained that representatives of the Romanian Academy were part of the team that drawn up the new curriculum, which was also green lighted by the teachers themselves, as it is the latter that have to teach the respective subject matters.

Pavel Nastase: “I had two meetings with Romanian Academy representatives and the final approval was given by the beneficiaries of this new curriculum, that is the people who teach these subjects. We invited two teachers from Bucharest and one from a rural area to present the opinions of the people who will actually teach using these textbooks. The curriculum for the 5th grade, for the entire middle school for that matter, is better than the old one.

Minister Nastase has also said that a project of revising school curriculum for all grades was initiated, which should be ready in one year at the most. He also pointed out that the issue of textbooks is one of his priorities.

Pavel Nastase: “The textbooks in use include too much information and are not in line with school curricula. This is because the people in charge with organizing the procurement of textbooks from various publishing houses do not check thoroughly whether the textbooks are drawn up in keeping with the curricula. So we have changed the methodology and asked that the assessment committees should be only made up of senior teachers. Well have a training session ahead of the assessment process and I hope that starting this year well have better textbooks.

The Education Minister has also said that the current education law has 365 articles, of which over 150 have been modified since 2011.

Pavel Nastase: “We are considering not only a new education law, but also an analysis in order to diagnose the problems in the public education system as a whole. Working on this analysis, which we refer to as ‘the state of education, we should be able to set our priorities straight and draw up public policies in the field of education. Later we will decide if we need a new education law or any other regulations in the field.

Pavel Nastase has also mentioned a project of the Romanian presidency and one proposed by the Romanian Academy, which include several new elements that the Education Ministry intends to consider.

15 March 2017