Romania was not reprimanded in Brussels for excesses invoked by President Vladimir Voronin, Romanian Foreign Minister

Romania was not reprimanded in Brussels for the excesses against Moldova invoked by President Vladimir Voronin, Romanian Foreign Minister Adrian Cioroianu told the radio station Free Europe in an interview, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. The Romanian official underlined that Romania was on occasion asked if the signals coming from Chisinau were real. But most of the times the signals turned out to be exaggerated, Adrian Cioroianu said. “Form Brussels’ standpoint, Romania’s policy towards Moldova was correct. We are at times asked about the number of citizenships granted or about the rate at which the visas are issued, because there were communications from Chisinau that unfortunately delivered untruthful messages,” the Romanian Foreign Minister said. According to the cited source, the number of applications for Romanian nationality filed by Moldovan citizens was much larger than the about 100,000 citizenships granted in the last 17 years. The fact that Romania offered citizenships in a limited number shows that it treats the given issue very seriously. “The Romanian state is now under the watchful eye of the European Union, which is sometimes furnished with the idea that we are more indulgent that we should, which is not true, as well as in the spotlight of the public opinion in Moldova, which we should not disappoint. We should not give the impression that Romania is now a self-centred state, an EU member state that forgot about the neighbours and especially about the citizens that have relatives and families in Romania, “Adrian Cioroianu said. In another development, the Romanian minister said that Romania is ready to continue backing the idea of including Moldova in the group of Western Balkan states that announced their readiness to gradually come closer to the EU. According to Cioroianu, he announced this intention while he was in Paris on a visit this January and during discussions with the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy in Bucharest on February 4 as well as through other official channels. Adrian Cioroianu stressed that Nicolas Sorkozy’s optimistic and encouraging statements in relation to Chisinau result from Romania’s determined effort and constant policy. The Romanian Foreign Minister expressed his optimism about the future relations between Romania and Moldova, stressing that despite the attacks at political level, the trade between the two countries in 2007 increased by about 50% on 2006, to about 850 million USD. There is great hope that the trade in 2008 will exceed 1 billion USD, Adrian Cioroianu said in the interview for Free Europe. All the Balkan states as well as Moldova are expected to become part of the European Union, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on February 4 while on a visit to Bucharest.