The Romanian Academic Council (CAR) was launched on Thursday at the headquarters of the Romanian Academy, with Academy president Ioan-Aurel Pop stating that the new body aims to restore Romanian research to the place it deserves in society.

CAR is formed by the Romanian Academy and the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, together with four Romanian branch academies, and will serve as a high-level platform for scientific cooperation.

The Memorandum, the CAR Establishment Agreement and the Statute were signed by the presidents of the six member institutions: the Romanian Academy, the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, the Academy of Legal Sciences of Romania, the Academy of Medical Sciences of Romania, the 'Gheorghe Ionescu-Sisesti' Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, and the Romanian Academy of Technical Sciences.

The Coordination Council also held its first meeting to elect its leadership.

Aurel Pop underscored that the Council will operate under the coordination of the Romanian Academy and that its structures and regular meetings are already defined. He added that the long-term goal is to advance the idea of a Romanian Academy shared by the two states.

He also voiced concern about what he described as a growing tendency in society to 'annihilate academic structures', stressing that this is 'deeply painful' and that Romania must reestablish academic and research institutions at the level they deserve.

The president of the Romanian Academy also called for greater solidarity in society, invoking historical examples and the role of elites during periods of reform.

'This word was emphasized today, because solidarity ensures our strength. Mihail Kogalniceanu, 100 years ago, clearly said, 'Unity makes strength!' He too was president of the Romanian Academy, although fewer people know this. And they coordinated those things with extraordinary wisdom. We would like that wisdom to return, as during the great reforms of Alexandru Ioan Cuza. Kogalniceanu, the Moldavia-born, said we should carry out reforms without haste. So let's think a little about how to proceed, let us do them so that they are stable. I think this is a signal for Romanian society and for the idea that the intellectual elite must prevail. Simion Barnutiu, a fellow Transylvanian of mine and a great professor in Iasi, said 'Stand with the people, so that you don't go astray!' But, from historical experience, we know that the people, if led down the wrong path by bad elites, can go astray. (...) So, a balance has always been maintained from this point of view. And we want to show that a society led with the help of intellectuals, not by intellectuals - because intellectuals make mistakes when acting alone - but if we combine the power of politicians with the wisdom of researchers, a very good experience could result,' Pop said.

The president of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, Ion Tighineanu, said the initiative aims to create a 'Romanian academic forum, which would cover both banks of the Prut.'

'It is a long-awaited event and, in fact, a few years ago, when we developed a joint action plan, we thought, in perspective, that we must achieve the creation of a Romanian academic forum, a forum that would cover both banks of the Prut. And I want to tell you that, as I mentioned, this is also a step towards the reunification of the Romanian Academy. When the Romanian Academy was founded, the initiative came from the cultural community. Scientific arguments were at its base and, here, today we are practically laying the foundations of a platform that will help create a cultural and scientific space, a space of Romanian spirituality. And I assure you that together, only together, we will succeed to assert ourselves in this world, which is now affected by various challenges. (...) Through culture, through science, through authentic values, we have every chance to assert ourselves and we must do it. (...) We are practically preparing the premises for future changes. We must stand together, as a matter of principle,' Tighineanu said.

According to the signatories, the establishment of the Romanian Academic Council represents 'a landmark moment for the consolidation of academic cooperation in the Romanian space, reaffirming the role of academic institutions as benchmarks of knowledge, intellectual dialogue and public responsibility.'

'The Romanian Academic Council is established as a platform for inter-institutional academic cooperation, with the mission of strengthening scientific dialogue and interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as of capitalizing on the intellectual potential of the academic community in the analysis and orientation of the development of society. Through its activity, the Romanian Academic Council will contribute concretely to the elaboration of analyses, studies and recommendations on major topics of public interest and will be involved in supporting a common space of Romanian science and culture, integrated into the European and international circuit of knowledge,' the initiators said.

The Council will operate under the coordination of the Romanian Academy, while respecting the institutional autonomy of each participating academy. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Popescu; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)