Romanian Academic Council: Strengthening Unity in Science

The Romanian Academic Council (C.A.R.), established on March 26, 2026, by the Romanian Academy, the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, and four specialized academies in Romania – the Academy of Legal Sciences, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Academy of Technical Sciences, and the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences “Gheorghe Ionescu-Șișești” – assumes, by the very reason for its existence, the mission of strengthening the common space of Romanian science, culture, education, and public responsibility.

The establishment of the Romanian Academic Council represented a milestone for the convergence of academic institutions in the Romanian-speaking space, based on the unity of language, culture, and history, as well as on the role of science as a sustainable foundation for the development of society.

The R.A.C. was conceived as a platform for scientific cooperation at the highest level, intended to bring together the efforts of Romanian academic institutions and to contribute to the development of studies, analyses, and recommendations on major topics of public interest.

In this spirit, the Romanian Academic Council welcomes the joint Appeal launched on May 1, 2026, by the Writers’ Union of Romania and the Writers’ Union of the Republic of Moldova, through which a transition from declarations of intent to concrete actions and the drafting of a realistic scenario, well-founded politically, legislatively, financially, economically, educationally, and culturally, regarding the goal of the Union of the Republic of Moldova with Romania, is requested.

The Romanian Academic Council notes that, in recent years, the relationship between Romania and the Republic of Moldova has entered a new stage, marked by institutional closeness, strategic solidarity, and the reaffirmation of belonging to the same space of language, culture, history, and European values. The Republic of Moldova continues its European path in a difficult geopolitical context, influenced by the war in the immediate neighborhood, external pressures, and complex regional challenges, a fact also highlighted in the Appeal of January 15, 2026, to the scientists and cultural figures of Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

In such circumstances, the academic community has the duty to speak clearly, responsibly, and based on truth. The Romanian Academy, founded in 1866, was established as an institution of cultural unity, through language and history, having from the beginning the integrative vocation of all Romanians. …

The Academy of Sciences of Moldova, created in 1961 in a difficult historical context, has preserved and transmitted the scientific and cultural tradition of Romanians on the left bank of the Prut River. The two sister academies have had and continue to have a fundamental role in defending the truth regarding the Romanian identity of the population on both banks of the Prut.

The joint declaration of the Romanian Academy and the Academy of Sciences of Moldova on December 30, 2025 – described by political analyst and historian Anatol Țăranu as a ‘Manifesto of Identity’ – reaffirmed an essential principle: lasting political unity can only be built on the spiritual, cultural, educational, and scientific reintegration of the Romanian people. Cultural Romania preceded political Romania, and this lesson of history remains relevant today.

Starting from this continuity of ideas and actions, the Romanian Academic Council addresses this Appeal to the public authorities of Romania and the Republic of Moldova, to academic, university, cultural, and educational institutions, to civil society, and to all citizens aware of the responsibility of the historical moment, and agrees with moving to action.

We believe that the time has come for the closeness between Romania and the Republic of Moldova to be assumed not only as an emotional and identity aspiration but also as an institutional construction project, developed with rigor, realism, and responsibility.

It is necessary to move from evocation to planning, from symbolic statements to coordinated actions, from natural solidarity to concrete mechanisms of convergence. In this regard, the Romanian Academic Council proposes initiating a broad process of analysis and scientific substantiation regarding the prospects of accelerated rapprochement between Romania and the Republic of Moldova, including through the development of a framework for academic, educational, cultural, legal, economic, administrative, and social convergence.

Unification in the academic and general cultural sphere must ensure the foundation for the unification of all institutions and for political unification. This process must be democratic, transparent, and European, based on respect for the will of the citizens, on historical truth, on the right to identity, and on the fundamental values of European civilization. It must not be the expression of a passing political conjuncture, but of a long-term national and European strategy.

The Romanian Academic Council considers it necessary to establish, under the aegis of the member academic institutions, groups of experts from Romania and the Republic of Moldova to develop studies, analyses, and recommendations regarding the gradual harmonization of educational, academic, and research systems; the recognition and joint valorization of Romanian cultural and scientific heritage; the alignment of the legal and institutional framework; the development of common infrastructure for research, innovation, education, and culture; the elaboration of a public and international communication strategy regarding the unity of language, culture, history, and European destiny of Romanians; and the objective assessment of the benefits, challenges, and possible stages of a process of national reintegration, in full accordance with democratic norms and the European trajectory of the Republic of Moldova.

The Romanian Academic Council emphasizes that major decisions regarding the future of the Republic of Moldova and its relationship with Romania belong to the citizens, in a democratic spirit. At the same time, academic, cultural, scientific, and intellectual elites have the duty to thoroughly prepare the ground of knowledge, public dialogue, and historical responsibility, so that such decisions are made with full awareness, without manipulation, without fear, and without falsifying the past.

Historical experience shows that great acts of unity have been prepared by culture, education, science, language, conscience, and solidarity. The unification of 1918 was preceded by a long spiritual and intellectual work. Today, in the conditions of the 21st century, this work must continue through the instruments of our time: research, expertise, institutional dialogue, education, public communication, European cooperation, and democratic commitment.

The Romanian Academic Council calls on the authorities in Bucharest and Chișinău to treat the rapprochement between Romania and the Republic of Moldova as a strategic priority, to support academic and cultural institutions in developing the necessary analyses, and to create the political and administrative framework for transforming historical solidarity into a coherent action program.

We also call on scientific research entities, universities, creative unions, cultural organizations, professional communities, and civil society to contribute to this process through competence, balance, and devotion to truth. The Romanian Academic Council reaffirms that science, culture, and education are the surest foundation of lasting unity.

Through historical truth, academic competence, institutional solidarity, and democratic will, the Romanian space can become more coherent, stronger, and better prepared for the challenges of the future. Today, more than ever, we have the duty to understand that what history has forcibly separated can be brought together through truth, knowledge, and shared will.

The Romanian Academic Council expresses its willingness to contribute, through the expertise of its member institutions, to the development of a coherent framework for analysis and action, aimed at supporting the irreversible rapprochement between Romania and the Republic of Moldova, in a European, democratic, and Romanian spirit.

Unity is not only the legacy of our ancestors. It is the responsibility of our generation towards the generations to come.

On behalf of the Romanian Academic Council:

Acad. Ioan-Aurel Pop
President of the Romanian Academic Council

Acad. Ion Tighineanu
Vice President of the Romanian Academic Council