Liberal lawmaker Valeriu Munteanu and a number of high school graduates gave a news conference in order to express their dissatisfaction with the intention of Prime Minister Iurie Leanca to obstruct the Moldovan young people’s access to studies in Romania. “The Liberal Party calls on Prime Minister Iurie Leanca to withdraw his proposal to limit the studies in Romania, and asks the Romanian Premier Victor Ponta not to accept this intention,” said the MP, quoted by IPN.

Valeriu Munteanu said the explanations provided by the executive over this subject afterward are awkward attempts to exculpate oneself. “This intention to prevent our young people from studying in Romania will make the families spend over 41 million lei if they remain to study in Moldova. Thus, this is a method of augmenting the budgets of the Moldovan universities,” stated Valeriu Munteanu.

In a program on Radio Moldova last week, Iurie Leanca said he suggested to his Romanian counterpart Victor Ponta a program that will enable the Moldovan young people to study in Romania for half a year or a year and then to return to the country. This proposal was aimed at extending the existing opportunities, not restricting them, the Premier’s spokeswoman Liliana Vitu stated for IPN after a number of media outlets misinterpreted a news article broadcast by the Agency on July 13. According to Liliana Vitu, the Premier proposed widening the studying possibilities through the university exchange program Erasmus, not replacing the system of scholarships offered by the Romanian state by it.

Afterward, Iurie Leanca also provided explanations in a TV program, saying his proposal applies to the young people who study in Moldova. The intention is to enable them to study in Romania for a period within an experience exchange program.