Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Thursday that the allotment of the EU funds for research and for supporting the activity of the young PhD and post-PhD students represents the best investment for the future.
Photo credit: (c) Liviu SOVA / AGERPRES PHOTO
‘If we have managed to allot 150 million euros for the school infrastructure — absolutely necessary, in fact — at the beginning of this year, from the European funds too, the more so the fact that today more than 250 million euros goes to human investment, to people who must continue a positive path for our society, I think represents the best investment by far’, Ponta said on signing the contracts with the beneficiaries of the research projects financed by the Human Resources Development Sectoral Operational Programme and the Increased Economic Competitiveness Sectoral Operational Programme.
The prime minister thanked the academic circles for having had patience in 2012, when those programmes had been blocked and managed to not give in, in spite of the financial difficulties.
‘Thank goodness the two programmes have been cleared, the money has been repaid and many of those who deserve it clearly benefit from these programmes from now on’, he added.
Ponta praised all the beneficiaries of the funding aimed at research, particularly 15 young Olympic contest winners who get the Young Researcher Scholarship.
‘I am glad another 14 young researchers benefit from a scholarship that in all righteousness is named after Ionut (Budisteanu, an Olympic contest winner — editor’s note), but I think of all those PhD—and post-PhD students who deserve to be supported,’ he stressed.
Attending the event were Minister-delegate for Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technological Development Mihnea Costoiu and European Funds Minister Eugen Teodorovici.AGERPRES
