According to a report approved by CNE, Ponta obtained his PhD title in full compliance with the legislation in effect in 2003, when the prime minister presented his PhD thesis.
At the end of June, Romania’s National Council of Degree and Diploma Certification (CNATDCU) decided that Ponta plagiarized his PhD thesis, and asked the Education Ministry to withdraw his doctorate degree.
Ponta’s PhD thesis will be further analyzed by the Ethics Council of the Bucharest University, which is expected to issue a decision Friday.
In June, German magazine Nature published an article alleging that more than half of Ponta’s PhD thesis on the International Criminal Court copies other works without citing sources. Ponta did not deny the accusations and said he may have made a mistake by not citing his sources in footnotes.
In an interview with Spanish daily El Pais, the prime minister is quoted as having said he would take responsibility and resign if his thesis is proven to have been plagiarized.