Remarks by President Charles Michel following his meeting with President of Romania Klaus Iohannis

 

Press material Monday 27 March 2023

● European Council   27/03/2023 15:58 | Statements and remarks | Remarks by President Charles Michel following his meeting with President of Romania Klaus Iohannis   Thank you President Iohannis, dear Klaus, for your warm welcome. It’s a pleasure to be back in Bucharest. Today we discussed important issues for our European continent. I will focus on three: EU support for Ukraine, Moldova and the Schengen area and border management Russia continues to attack the free people of Ukraine. And they continue to fight back bravely to defend their freedom. The European Union will continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary. Just a few weeks ago, President Zelenskyy attended our European Council meeting in Brussels. He made one thing perfectly clear: Ukraine needs more ammunition. Urgently. And we have responded quickly and decisively. We are again stepping up our military support. Last week, we agreed to urgently deliver one million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine. We will massively ramp up our production capacity. Klaus, a special thanks to Romania for your contribution to our financial, military, and humanitarian support to Ukraine. And for establishing a Union Civil Protection Mechanism logistic hub to channel EU assistance to Ukraine. Romania has also played a key role in making our Solidarity Lanes a success. This has brought vital revenue to Ukraine. But I know this has adversely affected Romanian farmers. The EU has mobilised over 50 million euros for farmers from front-line states. But we should look into increasing this amount. You know I fully support your call on that important question. Klaus, I want to personally thank you for Romania’s efforts in welcoming over 115,000 Ukrainian refugees. And for the international humanitarian hub that has helped the transit of more than 70 international assistance missions. This shows the true spirit of European solidarity. At last week’s European Council, we also sent a strong message of solidarity to the people of Moldova. And we asked the European Commission to present a support package for Moldova before the summer. We reaffirmed our unwavering support for Moldova’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. In recent months, you have mentioned it, Russia and its proxies have stepped up their efforts to destabilise the country. Weaponsing energy, conducting cyber-attacks, staging protests, and other subversive activities. We strongly condemn these attempts to destabilise Moldova. They must stop immediately. We continue our comprehensive support for Moldova. To bolster its security, stability, and resilience. It’s important that we launch the new Common Security and Defence Policy mission in Moldova as soon as possible. I will be indeed in Chisinau tomorrow, where I will reaffirm our steadfast support. As a candidate for EU membership, the people of Moldova begin a journey towards our European family. And we will be right by their side. I’m grateful to the government — and the people of Romania — for their solidarity with Moldova. Today, again, we also discussed the Schengen area and the importance of effectively managing the EU’s external borders. I would like to reiterate that I fully support Romania’s efforts to become a fully-fledged member of the Schengen area. I’m pleased to see that the pilot project of EU external border control was successfully launched earlier this month. Dear President, thank you again, for your warm welcome. I know we can count on you personally and we can count on Romania to help make our Union stronger, more resilient and more prosperous. And Romania can count on the EU. Thank you.