Romania commits that CEI countries get concrete assistance from EU: Romanian FM

Moldova should benefit from a new arrangement with the European Union, similar to the ones signed with the Balkan countries, Romania Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu reiterated in his addressing the summit of heads of governments of the Central European Initiative (CEI) member states. The reunion took place Friday in Chisinau. Comanescu said Moldova's latest progress in integrating into Europe would be a prerequisite in this respect. He stated that the CEI countries, which are not members of the EU, should strengthen their efforts to continue reforms and implement European standards in areas as public ability, domestic affairs, promoting the rights of national minorities. The EU members states need to support the non-members more substantially, so they the latter ones could develop their commercial capacities, to be included in Community programs. The regional cooperation offers a number of pre-adhesion tools to be capitalized on. “Mention was granted to the successes reached during the Moldovan presidency of the CEI in terms of strengthening the initiative in the relation with the EU. Taking over the CEI presidency, Romania commits that all the CEI members, which are not EU members should feel this backing from the EU, the concrete help from its institutions. I am confident, in a year, when we'll be marking 20 years of the initiative in Bucharest, we'll many and strong reasons to congratulate one another for the good things that this organization will do,” Comanescu said. In exercising its mandate of a CEI president in 2009, Romania says it will pursue to consolidate the cooperation among the member states of the CEI. After January 1, 2007, as Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU, the Central European Initiative has 9 EU member states and 9 countries not members of the EU.