In an unstable world, today’s Romania offers, by contrast, the opportunity for an effective, stable and predictable diplomatic action. “Romania believes in democracy and values, supports its friends and honors its partnerships, has a dynamic economy and a mature society that rejects extremism,” Marcel Ciolacu said at the annual meeting of the Romanian diplomatic service, which was also attended by Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gerasimov, IPN reports,  with reference to dcnews.ro.

The head of the Romanian Government underlined the total support for the Republic of Moldova and reaffirmed, in the context of the ongoing war on the border, the firm support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Also in the regional context, he welcomed the Romanian diplomatic service’s efforts to strengthen the security of the Black Sea region and ensure the support of allies and partners for the objective of transforming the Black Sea into an area of peace, security and connectivity.

Among the main attributes of stability, the Premier pointed out security, stressing that strengthening Romania’s national defense and security is an important objective.

“For the purpose, Romania allocates 2.5% of its GDP for defense. We need a strong, well-equipped army, capable of defending the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Romanian state, and which will also contribute to strengthening collective defense within NATO. Reinforcing NATO’s deterrence and defense posture in Romania remains a priority,” said Ciolacu.

As for EU membership, the Romanian official noted that Romania’s European objectives remain the same, revealing “the advancement of the enlargement policy, consolidation of the Single Market, preservation of a major role for the Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy, adoption of an EU Strategy for the Black Sea, strengthening of the Union’s defense and security dimension and, obviously, Romania’s full accession to the Schengen area, by eliminating land border controls for our country."

The Romanian Prime Minister also pointed out the importance that must be given to the Romanians who are abroad. “Romania would not be complete without the Romanians who are abroad. They are the Romanians I see on every trip I make abroad, with whom I talk a lot and who represent our country in the areas where they have chosen to live. The Romanians abroad have the right to the best representation and consular services and I’m glad to see that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working to expand the network of consulates and diversify consular services. Only in this way will the Romanians abroad feel well represented and protected. As we are in an election year, I want to note the good organization of the European Parliament elections and I’m very confident that the next rounds of elections will be organized equally well,” said Ciolacu.