The president of Romania Traian Basescu said that he is carrying out discussions with the Government over raising the number of free places in Romanian universities for Moldovan high school graduates by about 1,000. The statement was made at the opening of the fourth summer school “Romanian Communities and European Identity” at Eforie Sud on Friday, Realitatea reports on its website, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. Basescu stated he was surprised that there were up to 4,000 applications to Romanian universities in addition to the 1,100 student grants provided by the Romanian authorities for Moldovan young persons. “I do not mean places with grants, but free places in the Romanian state university system. We will consider offering more awards, but I hope free places will be provided in the near future,” Basescu said. The fourth summer school “Romanian Communities and European Identity”, organized under the auspices of the Romanian president, forms part of the ARC program launched by the Department for Relations with the Romanians Everywhere of the Romanian Foreign Ministry.