British Premier David Cameron pays visit to Bucharest

Bilateral relations and the reform of the European Union were high on the agenda of talks that the British Premier David Cameron had in Bucharest with his Romanian counterpart Dacian Ciolos and president Klaus Iohannis.

Bogdan Matei, 10.12.2015, 14:18

Romania and Britain are not just partners within NATO and the EU, but also very good business partners, as bilateral trade stood at a record 3.5 billion Euro last year, British PM David Cameron said on Wednesday in Bucharest. Alongside Poland and Bulgaria, Romania is part of Cameron’s diplomatic tour of central and Eastern Europe, against the background of London’s reconsidering its relations with Brussels. Also, Britain is currently preparing a referendum on whether to stay or not within the EU. Cameron said London wanted a reform of the European Union that would also serve Britain’s interests, especially with regard to the freedom of movement, in particular of the workforce.

David Cameron said he supported the freedom of movement principle, as one of Europe’s fundamental principles. Romanians, alongside other Europeans, make a valuable contribution to the United Kingdom in a wide range of fields, from finance to science and medicine, Cameron went on saying. However, this freedom of movement has brought more people than expected, with an net inflow of 300,000 in Great Britain alone. This pressure on schools, hospitals and public services in general must be solved, Cameron also said.

Just like Poland, Romania strongly opposes any limitation of the right to freedom of movement, which is one of the EU’s fundamental principles. The largest part of the Romanian citizens in Britain are very well integrated and contribute to the country’s economy through the taxes and fees they pay, said Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis during the talks with the British Premier.

In turn, the Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos said: “The proposals made by Britain can be supported by Romania, except for the matter concerning workers’ rights in the EU. Here we insisted on the need to find solutions that would not run counter to the rights that are already provided for in the European legislation, in particular with regard to welfare, given that Romanians who go to Great Britain do so in order to work, therefore they pay taxes there. I believe that in the future solutions will be found to take into account these concerns that Romania has.”

Strengthening cooperation between Romania and Great Britain in the economic and security fields, alongside a reform of EU mechanisms, were some of the other topics approached by the British PM David Cameron during talks with Romanian officials in Bucharest.

(Translated by Mihaela Ignatescu / Edited by Elena Enache)