Romania-Impossible Interview
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YOUTH BRIDGES TO REACH EFFICIENT EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP AWARENESS IMPOSSIBLE INTERVIEW with MIHAI R ĂZVAN UNGUREANU ROMANIAN ERASMUS+ TEAM The impossible interview with MIHAI R ĂZVAN UNGUREANU : Mihai R ăzvan Ungureanu was the foreign minister of Romania from December 28, 2004 to March 12, 2007 , during the last stages of Romania's accession to the European Union . The students imagined an interview with Mr. Ungureanu; the reporter’s questions and Mr. Ungureanu’s imaginary answers are: What is the European Union? The European Union is a unique economic and political partnership between 28 European countries that together cover much of the continent. One of its main goals is to promote human rights both internally and around the world. Human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights: these are the core values of the EU. What is the importance of the European Union? It has delivered half a century of peace, stability and prosperity, helped raise living standards, and launched a single European currency, the euro. Where does the money come from? The European Union budget is largely financed by ‘own resources’ which are based on three kinds of sources: customs duties on imports from outside the EU and sugar levies, a small part of the value added tax levied in the EU, and a percentage of the gross national income of each Member State. Who manages the money and decides on awarding grants and contracts? The European Commission has ultimate political responsibility for ensuring that all money from the EU budget is spent correctly. However, national governments are also responsible for conducting checks and annual audits, as about 80 % of EU funding is managed at country level. In addition, non-EU countries and international organisations are responsible for managing a small part of the EU budget which is allocated to programmes implemented by the Red Cross and the United Nations, for example. Where does the money go? Some 94 % of EU money is spent on the various EU policies, and most of it goes back to Member States. In many cases the EU budget supports large and complex projects, like Erasmus+ for students and European Partnership Action against Cancer. Approximately 6 % of the EU budget is spent on the functioning of the EU institutions. This is used to pay for the salaries and pensions of EU employees, translation and interpretation, security, buildings and IT systems etc. This expenditure is necessary in order to allow the EU to work. What is the history of Romania and European Union? Romania was the first country of post-communist Europe to have official relations with the European Community. Romania signed its Europe Agreement in 1993, and submitted its official application for membership in the EU in 1995. During the 2000s, Romania implemented a number of reforms to prepare for EU accession, including the consolidation of its democratic systems, the institution of the rule of law, the acknowledgement of respect for human rights, the commitment to personal freedom of expression, and the implementation of a functioning free-market economy. The objective of joining the EU has also influenced Romania's regional relations. As a result, Romania has imposed visa regimes on a number of states, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey and Moldova. In April 25, 2005, Romania signed the Accession Treaty to the European Union. Since January 1, 2007 Romania became full-fledged Member of the European Union. Does Romania spend any European money? Romania has had difficulties in spending the money allocated from the EU budget due to a lack of administrative capacity to administer and promote such funding. However, the situation is slowly improving. What about European Students? An EU student is a national of a member state of the European Union. Each EU country is responsible for its own education and training systems. EU policy is designed to support national action and help address common challenges, such as ageing societies, skills deficits in the workforce, technological developments and global competition. What are the opportunities offered inside the European Union for its students? The Erasmus Programme is an European Union student exchange programme established in 1987. In 1994, the Erasmus Programme, together with a number of other independent programmes, was incorporated into the Socrates programme. The Socrates programme ended on 31 December 1999 and was replaced with the Socrates II programme on 24 January 2000, which in turn was replaced by the Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 on 1 January 2007. Erasmus+ is the new programme combining all the EU's current schemes for education, training, youth and sport, which was started in January 2014. What are the EU objectives to regarding education and training systems? There are four major objectives: making lifelong learning and mobility a reality; improving the quality and efficiency of education and training; promoting equity, social cohesion, and active citizenship; enhancing creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship, at all levels of education and training. Are there some benchmarks in education set for 2020? Yes. The following benchmarks are to be reached by 2020: at least 95% of children should participate in early childhood education; fewer than 15% of 15-year-olds should be under-skilled in reading, mathematics and science; the rate of early leavers from education and training aged 18-24 should be below 10%; least 40% of people aged 30-34 should have completed some form of higher education; at least 15% of adults should participate in lifelong learning; at least 20% of higher education graduates and 6% of 18-34 year-olds with an initial vocational qualification should have spent some time studying or training abroad; the share of employed graduates (aged 20-34 with at least upper secondary education attainment and having left education 1-3 years ago) should be at least 82%. Thank you. .