Romanian citizenship test’s questions prove difficult for politicians

The questions in the Romanian citizenship test proved difficult for several politicians questioned by local Mediafax. The politicians argued that the questions do not cover their area of activity and that those who want the Romanian citizenship have time to study. Those applying for Romanian citizenship need to have knowledge of the Romanian language, history, geography, culture and civilization. Mediafax selected several questions and asked politicians about the duties of a Romanian citizen, the length of the Carpathian Mountains, and the county with the lowest number of citizens. Many of the politicians questioned approximated the length of the Carpathian Mountains and got a clue on the county with the lowest number of citizens based on the number of MPs representing it. “I come from one of the largest counties, Bacău. I’m thinking now about the county with the lowest number of MPs. I think the counties of Caraş-Severin, Covasna, even Mehedinţi do not have that many MPs,” Viorel Ilie, a minister for the relation with the Parliament, answered for Mediafax. Covasna is the Romanian county with the lowest number of residents. Social Democrat Party (PSD) deputy Liviu Pop, a former education minister, used the same reasoning to answer the question. “I think it is Ialomiţa. I’m thinking electorally. It is not Ialomiţa. I’m thinking about the number of MPs. Tulcea, Covasna are small, also Sălaj. I’ll choose Covasna,” he said. Other MPs did not wish to answer the questions asked by Mediafax. It was the case of National Liberal Party (PNL) senator Florin Cîţu. MEP Maria Grapini declined to answer the question about the Carpathian Mountains arguing it is not connected with the position of member of the European Parliament. Meanwhile, PSD deputy Cătălin Rădulescu called the testing method of foreign citizens looking to acquire Romanian citizenship “a stupidity.” He argued that the questions should be elementary ones, such as what is the language spoken in Romania, what the flag looks like, or what the capital is. He also said he would discuss the issue with his colleagues in charge of citizenship issues. The Romanian citizenship is granted to a person without citizenship or to a foreign resident if they lived in Romania for at least 8 years or for at least 5 years, if they married a Romanian, from the date of the marriage. If the person applying for citizenship is a refugee, is coming from another EU member state or has invested in Romania more than EUR 1 million, the requested length of stay goes down to half, Mediafax reported. Those interested in applying for the Romanian citizenship need to contact the National Citizenship Authority to find out more about what documents they need to submit. More information on the institution’s website,