Romania's President during his speech at the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), on Wednesday (Jan 25, 2006) in StrasbourgDuring his speech at the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), on Wednesday (Jan 25, 2006) in Strasbourg, Romania's President, Traian Basescu, said that his country's transition to democracy, aided by the Council of Europe, had helped to pave the way for membership of the European Union.
He also spoke of his strong support for the activities of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, particularly the creation of a Black Sea Euroregion, whose launch conference would take place in Romania in March.
Alleged secret detentions in the Council of Europe member states, the need for international condemnation of the crimes of totalitarian communist regimes, and human rights violations in the Chechen Republic were among subjects scheduled for debate during the PACE’s Winter Session.
Invited personalities included Romanian President Traian Basescu, Bulgarian Prime Minister Serguei Stanishev and the President of the Mexican Senate Jackson RamÃrez.
Romanian Foreign Minister Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu presented the Communication from the Committee of Ministers to the Parliamentary Assembly, and Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis will give his annual communication on the state of the Council of Europe.
Romania’s President, Traian Basescu, focused his speech, yesterday in Strasbourg, on issues such as Romania’s accession to EU and the compliance with the commitments assumed in the negotiations for accession, the fulfilment of the objectives proposed in the capacity of the country holding the presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe, with an emphasis on assuring an area of security in the Black Sea area and the democratisation of the region, as well as the situation of the ethnic minorities.
President Basescu appealed to the European parliamentarians to support ratification of Romania’s Accession Treaty to the European Union. The head of the state participated in the meeting of the Council of Europe as invited by the President of this European body, Rene van der Linde.
Actually, in the press conference which followed after the plenum meeting, Basescu mentioned that Romania expects, in May, that the European Commission produces a “normal” report that would allow the fulfilment of the objective of the accession to the EU on January 1, 2007. As having these in mind, President Basescu asked the PACE parliamentarians to stimulate support from the “states which are partners and friends for the ratification of the Accession Treaty of Romania.” (…) “The Council of Europe has been a constant partner of Romania during its historical transition to democracy path, so we also count on your solidarity to conclude this achievement,” Basescu said. He added he hoped that in a new meeting with PACE members he would be able to address the Assembly “as a Head of a European Union Member State.” (…) “Romania’s success will be the success of the Council of Europe, of re-united Europe,” he said.
The arguments mentioned by President Traian Basescu in support of the ratification of Romania’ s EU Accession Treaty on January 1, 2007 included the ongoing reform process in Romania, the fight against corruption and protection of minorities’ rights - topics also emphasised in the question addressed to the President during a Q&A session later on.
A topic highly valued by the President – i.e. the security of the Black Sea region - was also approached in the speech, as Basescu mentioned, in his capacity as Head of the state holding the presidency of the Ministerial Committee of the pan-European organisation, that Romania supports the project regarding the establishment of a Euro-region of the Black Sea, with a conference scheduled to take place in this respect in Bucharest in March.
The President of Romania also tackled the issue of stability in the Balkans and in the Republic of Moldova, and urged that the Romanian minorities in neighbouring states to enjoy the same rights that Romania secures for its own ethnic minorities. The abovementioned topics were also approached by the journalists attending the press conference.
As referring to Rep. of Moldova, Basescu emphasised that this country’s European integration “is a priority for Romania,” as our country undertook to support the Republic of Moldova’s endeavour to act in line with democratic standards and to bring its own contribution to the consolidation of regional security. Within this context, the president Basescu reiterated his request addressed to the European Union to provide an accession “road map” to the Rep. of Moldova, similar to those provided for the Western Balkan states.
President Basescu met in Strasbourg on Wednesday with President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Rene van der Linden, as well as with Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
Romania Report & sources
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