SUMMIT – The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will be
\nattending the 4th Summit of the Council of Europe, held on Tuesday
\nand Wednesday in Reykjavik and organized under the aegis of the Icelandic
\npresidency of the Council of Europe. According to the Romanian Presidency, the
\nsummit will highlight the role the Council of Europe plays in the current
\ngeopolitical context marked by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The
\nCouncil of Europe promotes and monitors the observance of democratic standards,
\nhuman rights and the rule of law. It was one of the first international
\norganizations that responded to the war in Ukraine by excluding the Russian
\nFederation. <\/p>\n
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EDUCATION LAWS
\n– The draft education laws have today been submitted to the Senate’s special
\ncommittees, which are expected to issue an opinion. Tomorrow the laws will be
\ndebated in the Education Committee. A final vote on the education laws is
\nscheduled for May 22 in the Senate, the decision-making body in this case.
\nAccording to Education Minister Ligia Deca, the laws seek to prevent and combat
\nschool dropout and functional illiteracy, to implement a pupil-oriented
\neducation, to ensure safety in schooling units and provide teachers with better
\ntraining and support opportunities and observe professional ethics standards.
\nRuling coalition parties say the laws will reform the education system, but the
\nopposition has voiced criticism, arguing the laws fail to provide solutions to
\nthe problems of the education system and represent a failure of the Educated
\nRomania project endorsed by the presidency. <\/p>\n
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WAR IN UKRAINE
\n– France will train and equip a number of Ukrainian regiments with dozens of
\narmored vehicles and light tanks, the presidents of France and Ukraine,
\nEmmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sunday in Paris. France
\nwill also channel its efforts to bolster Ukraine’s anti-air defenses, the joint
\nstatement also reads. In diplomatic terms, the two presidents have argued in
\nfavor of introducing new sanctions against Russia and of continuing to
\nstrengthen ties between Ukraine, NATO and the EU. Ukraine has a right to make
\nits own security choices and France supports this country’s bid to join the
\nEuro-Atlantic Community, the French president pointed out. Volodymyr Zelenskyy
\nvisited Paris on Sunday evening as part of a mini tour of Europe which also
\nincluded stopovers in Italy and Germany. <\/p>\n
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AIRCRAFT -
\nThe MiG-21 LanceR aircraft of the Romanian Air Forces carried out their last
\nflights on Monday in a ceremony held in several airbases across Romania. The 85
\nAir Base in Bac\u0103u (east) is also now open to visitation. The withdrawal of
\nMiG-21 LanceR jets was voted by the country’s Supreme Defense Council last year
\nwith a view to speeding up the purchase of F-16 jets. <\/p>\n
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ELECTION IN TURKEY – The president of Turkey’s Electoral Council said that Conservative
\npresident Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan has won over 49% of Sunday’s presidential vote
\nwith the majority of the ballot boxes counted. His opposition rival,
\nSocial-Democrat Kemal Kilicdaroglu,
\ngrabbed some 44% of the vote. Erdo\u011fan said he is clearly leading in the
\nelections, but remained open to the possibility of a runoff vote in case it is
\nnecessary, AFP reports. The opposition candidate, Kemal K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu, promised
\nto win the second round of elections scheduled for May 28. For the first time
\nin his 20-year mandate, Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan will have to rely on the
\npresidential run-off to secure a new term in office. <\/p>\n
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FESTIVAL -
\nThe European Film Festival starts today in Bucharest after the editions
\npreviously held in Timi\u0219oara and Oravi\u021ba (west). Sophie Barthes’s The Pod
\nGeneration will open the festival, a winner at the Sundance Film festival this
\nyear. Running until May 23, the European Film Festival will include films
\npremiered in Berlin, Venice, at Sundance or Locarno, many of which were
\nreleased this year. (VP)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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