The report released following the study indicates that 69% of Romanian students have total and high confidence in the European Commission, 68% of them trust the European Parliament, while only 44% express the same level of confidence in the Romanian Government.

The European report of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2022, based on data from 18 countries, including Romania, was published on February 22 by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, and the conclusions regarding Romania were released by the Ministry of Education.

Research, aimed at evaluating the civic and citizenship competencies of eighth-grade students, reveals, among other things, that Romanian students have significantly more trust in European institutions than in national ones, especially considering that many of them report learning about the European Union at school.

"Romanian students have more trust in European institutions than in national ones: 69% and 68% of Romanian students express complete and high confidence in the European Commission and the European Parliament, respectively. In contrast, only 44% extend a similar level of trust to the Romanian Government. Romanian students anticipate a higher likelihood of participating in European elections compared to their counterparts in other study-participating countries: 77% of them claim they will most likely vote in European elections, compared to only 58% ICCS average", according to the study's results, as reported in a press release by the Ministry of Education.

On the other hand, the same research indicates that a significant part of Romanian students takes a critical stance towards the costs of European institutions (62%), the influence that wealthy countries have on European policies (70%), and the influence of European bureaucrats (61%).

The report also indicates that Romanian students have a strong sense of European belonging, with 97% of them declaring themselves European, and 94% being proud of Romania's membership in the European Union. Both percentages are higher than the European average (95% and 91%, respectively).

"The majority of Romanian students support freedom of movement within Europe: 96% of them believe that the freedom of European citizens to work anywhere in Europe is beneficial for the European economy, and only 30% of them, compared to the ICCS 2022 average of 4%, believe that the rights of Europeans to work in the European space should be limited to some extent. Romanian students support cooperation between European countries for environmental protection: 94% of them believe that European countries should adopt common rules for environmental protection. Most Romanian students are optimistic about improving cooperation between European countries (88%), strengthening European democracy (79%), reducing pollution (62%), improving access to health services (75%), and representing women in politics (76%) in the future, in the European space", are other conclusions of the study.

Approximately half of Romanian teenagers who participated in this research believe that terrorism, poverty, unemployment, religious intolerance and economic inequalities will increase in Europe in the future, and over three-quarters, precisely 76% of them, believe that economic disparities between rich and poor European countries will grow.

Romanian students affirm to a degree of 82% that they have acquired substantial knowledge about the European Union during their schooling, and 78% of Romanian educators feel adequately equipped to instruct students on the subject of the European Union. Both of these percentages surpass the averages observed in other countries participating in the ICCS 2022 study.

In all countries participating in the study, students with a higher socioeconomic status and those with a higher level of civic knowledge are more likely to support freedom of movement in Europe, cooperation between European countries on environmental issues, and the adoption of common policies, compared to young people with a lower socioeconomic status and lower civic knowledge.

The coordinator of the study in Romania, Professor Cătălina Ulrich Hygum, believes that the European report is "a lesson in maturity and trust given by teenagers".

Professor Lucian Ciolan, Romania's representative to the IEA General Assembly, believes that the results of the report provide "reasons for optimism about the overall pro-European trend, even if trust in Union institutions and processes is not always at its highest".

"I hope that school will continue to be a space for promoting European values and democratic principles and an environment that fosters young people capable of understanding the world in which they live", said Minister of Education Ligia Deca.

This was the first time Romania participated in this study.