Romanian President addresses European Parliament

Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis insisted on the preservation of the EUs unity

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Daniela Budu, 24.10.2018, 13:33

The Romanian head of state pleaded
for unity, cohesion and solidarity in consolidating the European project, rejected
the idea of a multi-speed Europe and emphasized the fact that Romania is deeply
attached to the European project.

President Iohannis has also said
that joining the Euro Zone, as soon as all criteria are met, is a national objective
of Romania just like the country’s accession to the border-free Schengen area. President
Iohannis believes that Romania, which has deeply changed since the fall of the
communist regime, continues to believe in the European-type democracy.

The country has a growing economy and
is a stability provider in the region. Furthermore, the Romanian president has
added, Romania is an appreciated country, responsible for the security it
provides at regional level and within NATO.

According to the Romanian President,
the European Union must make efforts in the right direction so that no member
state and no European citizen should be left behind. Iohannis has pledged not to
abandon his standards in terms of implementing the rule of law and to work together
with the government in order to ensure the success of Romania’s EU Council
presidency in the first half of 2019.

The Romanian president has said
that as far as he is concerned, there
is no reason strong enough to make him lower his standards as regards the rule
of law or justice in Romania. The rule of law must remain the rule of law, the
Romanian president went on to say. Justice must be independent and democracy unaltered.
On the other hand everybody understands the need for the Romanian presidency of
the EU Council to be a real success and that he is ready to work jointly with
the government to achieve this goal.

Klaus Iohannis has also given
assurances about his commitment to fighting corruption. The Romanian president said that he was determined
to make further efforts to guarantee the Romanians the preservation of
democratic values, of the rules and principles of the rule of law and the
continuation of a very tough, difficult but fair fight against corruption.

In turn, the European Commission
president Jean-Claude Juncker has said that consensus is needed at the level of
the Romanian political class in terms of rule of law and the fight against
corruption so that Romania’s Schengen accession should not be affected. The
European official has reiterated his support for Bucharest’s accession to
Europe’s border-free area by the end of the current mandate of the European
Commission.