Speaker Ciolacu: Romania to support European, Euro-Atlantic path of all states in region attached to EU values

Romania will support the European and Euro-Atlantic path of all the states in the region that prove their attachment to the fundamental values of the European Union, democracy and the rule of law, said the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, on Tuesday, in Parliament, at the Regional Forum on "Integration of the Western Balkans in the European Union", organized by the Social Democratic Party (PSD). 

"The European Union is far from a perfect construction. It would be utopian to say so. The migration crisis, the Brexit, the terrorist attacks or the economic gaps between East and West are just some of the challenges that we must face and which often have sparked heated discussions between member states. However, I want you to be aware that the European Union is the safest way to reach the prosperity and expectations of the citizens. Romania's experience has shown that, in the 12 years since accession, foreign investments and European funds of tens of billions of euro have entered the country. This is an achievement related to this guarantee on achieving a package of common values and a stable democracy, but also on institutional modernization and state reform in accordance with European principles and values. For this reason, Romania will support the European and Euro-Atlantic path of all states in the region which prove their attachment to the fundamental values of the European Union, democracy and the rule of law," Ciolacu said. 

He added that the authorities in Bucharest are ready to share their experience and to deliver those elements of expertise "to all the states with European aspirations in the Western Balkans and on the eastern border of the European Union". 

The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies reminded that Romania paid special attention to boosting the enlargement process throughout its rotating Presidency of the EU Council and welcomed the presence at the event organized by the Romanian Social-Democrats of the PES President Sergei Stanishev and of the Social-Democrats leaders from Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Moldova, Serbia and Northern Macedonia.