The President of Romania, Nicușor Dan, sent a message on the occasion of Europe Day, in which he spoke about the benefits of Romania’s membership in the European Union, about the current challenges, but also about the internal political situation, reaffirming that the country will have “a pro-Western government within a reasonable time”.
“Today we celebrate Europe Day, tomorrow Independence Day. They are two moments linked to each other, they are linked to Romania’s western destiny”, this is how the president began his message dedicated to Europe Day, at the Cotroceni Palace.
Nicușor Dan highlighted that the main merit of the European construction is the maintenance of peace on the continent.
“The European Union has primarily meant peace in Europe. Peace brings prosperity and peace is not self-evident, as we see in the war going on around us.” he said.
The President pointed out that the almost 20 years of membership in the EU have brought Romania modernization and an increase in the standard of living. According to him, the average salary in Romania tripled during this period and reached approximately 80% of the European average.
At the same time, the head of state admitted that serious problems persist, such as social inequalities and corruption.
“There is a corruption that defies Romanians and especially Romanians with low incomes. However, if we draw a line, after 20 years Romanians are doing much better than they were doing 20 years ago”. said Nicușor Dan.
To support his arguments, the president presented several data regarding the net contribution of the European Union to the development of Romania.
According to him, Romania contributed 36 billion euros to the European budget and received 110 billion euros, which means a net benefit of 74 billion euros. Of this amount, 45 billion euros were directed to agriculture and the development of Romanian villages.
Also, Nicușor Dan mentioned that European funds allowed the construction or modernization of 4,000 kilometers of roads and financed the restoration of heritage sites such as churches, monasteries, fortresses, castles and museums.
In his speech, the president argued that the debate on Europe must be conducted in a realistic and reasoned manner, not through slogans.
“We have to talk about Europe differently than with slogans, to get out of the logic where instead of debate we have slogans, because unfortunately Europe is a subject that divides our society and instead of debate, as I said, we have slogans”, he transmitted.
Nicușor Dan admitted that the European Union also made mistakes, giving as examples the abandonment of nuclear energy, the dependence on Russian gas, the neglect of the defense industry and some environmental policies that he considered excessively ambitious.
However, the president emphasized that the strength of the European Union lies precisely in its democratic capacity to debate and correct these decisions.
Referring to Romania’s position in the EU, the head of state said that the country must defend its interests more firmly and build solid alliances within the EU bloc.
“We are at the moment when Romania is credible, it knows how to act within the European Union, it knows how to make alliances to support its policies and, therefore, it knows how to defend its interests as other countries in the Union do”. he scored.
Externally, Nicușor Dan reiterated Romania’s support for strengthening the partnership between the European Union and the United States, but also for the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU.
Regarding the domestic political situation, the president announced that he had completed a first round of consultations with the leaders of pro-Western parties and representatives of national minorities. “I reaffirm, Romania will have a pro-Western government, within a reasonable time”, he declared. According to the president, there is already consensus on some major objectives such as joining the OECD, maintaining the assumed fiscal trajectory and preparing the budget for 2027.
