July 9, 2016

The NATO Summit is underway in Warsaw, with Romanias President Klaus Iohannis attending/ Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos analyses with several Romanian MEPs the impact of the Brexit vote, on Romania, the EU member states and the future of the European Union

Corina Cristea, 09.07.2016, 12:00

NATO SUMMIT — The NATO leaders, gathered in Warsaw, decided to further provide assistance to Afghanistan, in spite of the initial decision by several member states to shorten their presence in that country, this year. According to NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, the North Atlantic Alliance will continue to train Afghan forces and to provide financial assistance to Afghanistan, by 2020. The NATO leaders will also discuss today, on the last day of the summit, cooperation with Ukraine, after on Friday, the German Chancellor and the French President analysed, with Vladimir Putin, the situation in eastern Ukraine, which runs the risk of escalating, after a spike in ceasefire violations. Also on Friday, NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, announced the deployment to the Baltic States and to Poland of four multinational battalions and the setting up of a NATO multinational brigade in Romania. A NATO-EU joint declaration on cooperation in such domains as cyber crime and migration has been signed on the sidelines of the summit. Romania is represented at the Warsaw Summit by President Klaus Iohannis.

BREXIT EFFECTS — Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos has held talks with several Romanian MEPs on the impact of the Brexit vote, on Romania, the EU member states and the future of the European Union. According to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Government, the prime minister said one of Romania’s top priorities, during the forth-coming negotiations, is to make sure the Romanian citizens’ rights are non-discriminatorily observed. Ciolos also underlined how important it is for Romania to pay an active role in re-launching the European project and to show it further embraces and sticks to the fundamental values and principles of the European Union, pleading for a stronger, more inclusive and integrated Union. The focal points of the talks also included the functioning of the Schengen area, external border security, the migration and asylum policy, the visas for Canada, the Republic of Moldova and the relation with the EU, the Juncker Plan, as well as revising the Multi-annual Financial Framework Post 2020.

VISAS— The Head of the Chancellery of the Romanian PM, Dragos Tudorache, will discuss in Brussels on Monday with Canadian immigration minister, John McCallum, as well as with representatives of the European Commission and of Bulgaria, issues related to the lifting by Canada of travel visas for Romanian citizens. Romanian PM, Dacian Ciolos, has said earlier this week that progress has been made in the visa exemption file, also adding that in the absence of a political decision on the issue in Ottawa, Romania, as a EU member state, might, just like Bulgaria, not ratify the EU-Canada Commercial Agreement. In April, Canada and the US received an additional three-month deadline on the visa regime reciprocity, which stipulates that the countries whose citizens do not need mandatory visas should, in their turn, allow the free movement of all EU citizens. Canada now requires mandatory visas for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens, whereas the US imposes visas on five EU member states, Romania included.

DRILLS – Three Romanian military ships will participate in the multinational exercise BREEZE 16, over July 11- 17. The drills will unfold in Bulgaria’s territorial waters and in the Black Sea international waters. Romania’s ships are Frigate “Regina Maria”, with 240 marines on board, the sea minesweeper “Sublocotenent Alexandru AXENTE” and the “Lastun” Missile Carrier, with 60 military on board. The Romanian military ships are part of the forces and equipment made available by Romania to the North Atlantic Alliance, and the participation of the Romanian military in NATO exercises is meant to strengthen the interoperability of the ships’ crews with similar partner military structures.

(Translated by D. Vijeu)