The Romanian government hasn't got the slightest intention to modify international child adoption legislation, said Romanian PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu. The Romanian official mentioned he had lately noticed statements, American included, asking for legislation revision. The PM emphasized that the law passed in June 2004 and in use since January 2005 no longer allowed for international child adoption. The PM explained: "This law places the child's interests above the interests of possible adoptive parents. We are going to send letters to those soliciting adoption and explain to them how things are. We don't wish to give them hope." The PM mentioned that cases of children who could not go through international adoption were solved in different ways: the children were adopted by Romanians, reintegrated in their own families or adopted by their relatives. (...) State secretary Theodora Bertzi, chief of ORA (the Romanian Office for Child Adoption), has recently said that in late November they completed the preliminary report on children for whom there were solicitations for adoption for 24 states (the US, Spain, Greece, Italy, Germany, Israel and more). ORA data says a form of protection (national adoption, family reintegration or enlarged family reintegration) was found for 396 children and individual protection plan was set for 281 children to be provided with one of the above-mentioned solutions. More 423 cases are to be analyzed until March 2006. On Friday the United States expressed deep concern about Romania's recent announcement about stopping all international adoption and demanded Bucharest officials to find "a legal means" to solve cases at standstill.

Corina SCARLAT