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President Klaus Iohannis had a telephone conversation on Wednesday with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko, at the latter's request, the main topic being the Education Law recently adopted in Ukraine. "The President of Romania expressed in strong terms the dissatisfaction with the adoption of the law, which has negative effects on the right to education in the mother tongue of the persons belonging to minorities in Ukraine, including the Romanian one. President Klaus Iohannis pointed out that, before this demarche, there should have been a rigorous consultation with the representatives of the national minorities in Ukraine and the neighboring states with which they are related," the Presidential Administration said in a statement sent to Agerpres.
Also, the head of state reiterated the position of the Romanian side on the fact that Article 7 of the law, as it is currently formulated, significantly reduces the rights of the Romanian minority's members to education in the mother tongue. Klaus Iohannis asked his counterpart that Ukraine should respect its commitments assumed constantly to the Romanian side regarding the observance of relevant international norms and standards in the field of the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities.
"The President of Romania also drew attention to the fact that it is important for the level and quality of education in the Romanian language to not be affected by the new rules and pointed out that the learning of the official language of the state where the minorities live should not be done to the detriment of the minorities' mother tongue," the release informs. President Iohannis reiterated Romania's continued support for the European course of Ukraine and the territorial integrity of this country. "The President of Ukraine has shown that he fully understands the concerns of the Romanian side and has conveyed the firm commitment of the Ukrainian authorities to find a solution to the problems created by the adoption of the law, so that the rights of persons belonging to the Romanian minority to learn in their mother tongue be not affected. The Ukrainian president also assured that the Venice Commission's opinion on the Education Law, which was recently requested by the Ukrainian side, will be respected," the press release said.
President Petro Poroshenko reiterated the invitation to his Romanian counterpart to visit Ukraine. In this context, President Iohannis stressed that this visit, due to be held in October and which was postponed by the Romanian side following the situation created by the adoption of the Education Law, will take place after the appropriate correction of the problems caused by this act normative, says the Presidential Administration's press release.
