Statements about Romania’s belonging in NATO and the UE

Romania remains firmly committed to its assumed Euro-Atlantic progress, decision-makers in Bucharest say

Bogdan Matei, 11.12.2024, 13:50

At the question ‘in what country they would want to work or study for a longer period of time’, 42% of the respondents to an opinion poll made by INSCOP in Romania in June 2021 opted for a Western country, in the EU or for the United States or Canada. Only 4% chose Russia and China whereas 47% said they would not leave their country. 66.6% said they preferred the Western-style rights and liberties to the traditional values Russia pretends to promote and only 16.2% stood in favour of the so-called Russian values. 56.2% of the Romanians believed that Romania’s accession to the EU brought along advantages whereas 35.1% saw only disadvantages. 65.8% of the respondents said they want Romania to be a NATO member, so that it may be well-defended militarily, 28.6% stood for neutrality as they believed Romania was not going to be attacked by anyone.

73.8% believed the US bases on Romania’s territory contribute to the country’s defence in the event of a foreign aggression. Even at that time, the respondents overwhelmingly voiced their discontent with the activity of their leaders irrespective of their political creed.

The sociologists’ conclusion at that time was that the Romanians did not contest their belonging to the free world but only the legitimacy of a political class, which ignored them and looked down on them. Romania is firmly committed to its assumed Euro-Atlantic headway and the decision to bring our own contribution to strengthening security in the area remains a solid one, Romania’s Minister of Defence, Angel Tîlvăr said on Tuesday during the visit he paid together with the US ambassador Kathleen Kavalec to the Mihail Kogălniceanu airbase in southeastern Romania.  There they met a delegation of military attaches from NATO countries accredited to Bucharest, the US troops deployed there as well as their Spanish, French and Romanian counterparts.

According to ambassador Kavalec ‘Romania is investing quite a bit of funds to improve this important airbase, which is one of the most important in NATO and which helps defend the Eastern Flank and which helps defend the Black Sea area’.

Also on Tuesday, the Custodian of the Romanian Crown, Princess Margareta says that never in its modern history has Romania enjoyed a higher security level and better conditions for economic prosperity than now as a fully-fledged member of the EU and NATO.

In another development she described the latest presidential and Parliamentary election as a cry for help from the voters who against a rapid but unequal economic development are feeling ignored. She gave as example the differences between the country’s capital Bucharest and the poverty in rural Romania or the investment in modern technologies whereas expenditures in the health sector remain the lowest in the European Union.

(bill)