Romania’s president travels to Brussels
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis chose Brussels as the destination of his first foreign visit after taking office.
Roxana Vasile, 16.01.2015, 13:42
Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has travelled to Brussels for what we may call his “visit of introduction” at the headquarters of European Union institutions and NATO. Ahead of talks with the head of the European Commission, Jean Claude Junker, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, Klaus Iohannis said the consolidation of Romania’s European integration, after 8 years of European Union membership and 11 years of NATO membership, is a priority of his term in office, together with the need for Bucharest to take a more active role as a NATO member.
The Romanian president’s talks with the European Commission head Jean Claude Junker focused on Romania’s decision to adopt the euro, improving the absorption rate of European funds and the political agreement signed in Bucharest on increasing defence funding. The two officials also tackled Romania’s joining the Schengen area, which Jean Claude Junker fully supports. The Schengen entry has been a goal for Romania for some time, but Brussels has made it conditional on the progress of justice reform, which has been monitored through the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification.
This is what Klaus Iohannis had to say about the latter: “In a few days we will have a new report in this respect. We have agreed that this will encourage us to say that in the following years, during our terms, we will bring this procedure to a successful conclusion, given that Romania has made significant progress in consolidating its institutions, the implementation of structural reforms and the consolidation of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.”
The European commissioner for regional policy, Corina Cretu, who attended Iohannis’ talks with Junker, said a working group was created within the European Commission to provide technical assistance to member states with a low absorption rate of European funds, including Romania. Corina Cretu.
Corina Cretu: “We will visit these member states. We are in permanent dialogue with them to make best use of the 11 months until December 2015, the last month when funds can still be accessed for the 2007-2013 budget.”
Last but not least, another announcement made in Brussels by president Klaus Iohannis refers to his visit next month to France and Germany.
