July 4, 2023 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 04.07.2023, 19:45
Education. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, promulgated the new education laws on Tuesday. A former high school teacher himself, the head of state is the promoter of the “Educated Romania” project, launched in 2016, based on a series of public consultations. Its main goals include the increase in funding for education, the decrease in school dropouts, and the reduction of functional illiteracy. The education laws were adopted by the Senate on May 22. They were unsuccessfully contested at the Constitutional Court by the opposition Save Romania Union because, among other things, they said it would limit the right to education and violate the principle of equal rights. The education laws were criticized by both the Pupils National Council and by university student organizations, for various provisions considered discriminatory. “I am firmly convinced that, with the new laws that we have promulgated, we have a solid framework on which we can build an education system prepared for the current challenges”, said the head of state. Also on Tuesday, it was announced that the percentage of secondary school graduates who obtained at least the average grade of 5 in the National Assessment stands at 76.4%. The number of grades of 10 reached 466 nationally, but more than 36,000 children have grades below five.
Support. Germany will support Romania become a full member of the Schengen area this year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday. He added that Romania has already undertaken major efforts and these should be appreciated. “We are involved with all our strength for this”, said Scholz in a joint press conference with Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who is on a working visit to Berlin. Scholz also said that the discussions focused on the security policy on NATOs Eastern Flank and the Allied Summit in Vilnius next week. “Germany is Romanias most important trading partner, a fact that constitutes a solid basis for boosting our bilateral relationship and offers real development prospects that we want to materialize as soon as possible”, the Romanian Prime Minister said.
Schengen. The Romanian Foreign Minister Luminiţa Odobescu has welcomed the position of Spain, which is currently holding the rotating presidency of the European Union, regarding Romanias accession to Schengen. In an exclusive interview for Radio Romania, she said that accession to Schengen remains a priority goal for the Romanian authorities. Previously, the Spanish ambassador to Bucharest, José Antonio Hernández Pérez-Solórzano, had reiterated his countrys support for Romanias accession to the free movement area. He stated that the issue of the accession of Romania and neighboring Bulgaria will be put on the agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs Council most likely this fall. “It is a priority of our presidency to include Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen Area” – said the Spanish diplomat.
DACIA. Dacia has announced it will take part in the 2025 edition of the Dakar Rally as one of the official manufacturers. Dacia representatives announced its prototype race car will use a synthetic fuel supplied by Aramco. Piloting one of Dacias cars into the series will be several-time Dakar champion Sébastien Loeb of France.
Inquiry. The Romanian Government will launch an official inquiry into medical leaves. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has called on the National Health Insurance Authority to submit an updated report, after last year over 8 million requests for medical leave were submitted, considering Romanias active population totals some 6 million people. Total medical leave costs stood at some 1.2 bln EUR. Parliament has previously voted out an initiative designed to empower the Health Insurance Authority to verify people on medical leave without violating their privacy.
Ukraine. The battles against the Russian invasion army are difficult, Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, hailing however what he has termed progress reported as part of the June counteroffensive campaign. “Last week was difficult, but we are making headway. Were taking it one step at a time”, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. Previously, deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that “Ukraine has liberated 28.4 square kilometers in the south and 9 square kilometers in the east over the past week”, taking the total area liberated by the Ukrainian army since the launch of the counteroffensive to 158 square kilometers. “The enemy is fighting back, the current battle is very tough”, deputy minister Mailar went on to say. (MI)
