October 2, 2016 UPDATE
The academic year for Romanian university students starts on Monday
Newsroom, 02.10.2016, 19:12
UNIVERSITY — The academic year for university students starts on Monday. Among this year’s novelties are the introduction of 35 new specialisations for the graduation exams, 64 master’s degree programmes and the temporary licensing of doctoral schools. A report of the Court of Accounts made public in May showed that between 1991 and 2004 the number of university students in Romania decreased by 1.4 million, while the number of faculties and universities has increased. At present there are 103 higher education institutions in the country. According to the report, the main reasons for the smaller number of university students are the low birth rate, emigration and school dropout.
PNL — The priorities of the National Liberal Party (PNL), the second largest parliamentary party in Romania, are the government programme and deciding the team that will run in the parliamentary elections in December, the Liberals’ leader, Alina Gorghiu, wrote on her Facebook page. On Saturday the Liberals decided that their party be headed by only one president, Alina Gorghiu. The decision was taken at the proposal of the former Liberal Democrats, now PNL members, who decided not to nominate a new co-president to replace Vasile Blaga, who resigned over corruption charges. According to anti-corruption prosecutors, Blaga was being investigated in a corruption case. The former Liberal leader is suspected of having awarded preferential procurement contracts between 2009 and 2012, while an interior minister and Senate speaker.
COMMISSIONER – Romania risks being sanctioned by the EU because of the poor management of waste at national level, EU commissioner for regional policies, Corina Cretu has said. She explained that 90% of the waste in Romania is not collected properly and unless this problem is solved in a short time, the fines will be significant. During a trip to Iasi, in eastern Romania, Corina Cretu told a citizens debate that the north-eastern part of the country, despite being the poorest, had the highest absorption rate of European funds between 2007 and 2013. The European Commission also highlighted the importance of cohesion policies across the Union and the need to fight populism and euro-scepticism.
BREXIT – British Prime minister Theresa May on Sunday told the BBC that the country will formally begin the Brexit process by the end of March 2017.The prime minister confirmed the deadline for triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which sets in place a two-year process of withdrawal. Theresa May also said she hoped there would now be “preparatory work” with the remaining EU members for a smoother process of negotiation.
UN – The permanent members of the UN Security Council have discussed a UN draft resolution on imposing a ceasefire in Syrias battleground city of Aleppo, France Presse reports. The draft text calls for a cessation of hostilities in Aleppo, in keeping with the American-Russian agreement of September 9th. A ceasefire monitoring mechanism would be set up with experts from the 20-nation International Syrian Support Group (ISSG) taking part. Following the meeting with the permanent council members diplomats were to hold negotiations on the text over the weekend, with a draft resolution to be circulated to the full Security Council on Monday.
REFERENDUM – Hungarians headed to the polls on Sunday for a referendum on whether parliament should allow the EU to set a quota for refugee resettlement in the country. In the case of Hungary, the quota is 1,294 asylum seekers. During the migration crisis Hungary became a transit country for the refugees heading towards Germany and other EU states. In August, Hungary’s prime minister announced that the country was planning to build a second fence to prevent refugees from crossing the border. It will stand next to its current 500km razor wire fence that runs alongside its border with Croatia and Serbia.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
