Cooperation Romania – Bavaria
The first joint session of the Romanian and Bavarian governments took place in Munich to mark 25 years of bilateral relations
Daniela Budu, 19.06.2024, 14:00
‘We are supporting Romania’s fully-fledged accession to Schengen’ – Markus Soder, the Prime Minister of the state of Bavaria assured his Romanian counterpart Marcel Ciolacu during the official visit he paid as head of a ministerial delegation that went to Munich on Monday and Tuesday.
The Bavarian official mentioned the real headway made by Bucharest.
Markus Soder: “We are seeing the progress Romania made, the security aspects. And we are a support to Romania for its fully-fledged accession to the Schengen zone. The cooperation with Europol, the process of fighting corruption have registered great progress and the authorities are cooperating very well. We have got very important and good information from the Bavarian Interior Ministry. And for this reason it is important for Romania to join Schengen as a fully-fledged member.”
Munich also saw the first joint session of the Romanian and Bavarian governments, where they tackled ways of consolidating the bilateral, economic, social and security cooperation. The two sides have signed a memorandum on entrepreneurship, SMEs and start-ups. Out of all German states, Bavaria is Romania’s most important investor and trade partner with a volume of trade exchanges of 8.3 billion Euros at the end of last year. Marcel Ciolacu says that he wants that all major Bavarian companies invest in Romania.
Marcel Ciolacu: “We want the big Bavaria-based companies in the field of car-making, engineering and aero-spatial industry, invest in Romania. We have one of the best growth-rates in Europe.”
The Bavarian Prime Minister also stood for stepping up the bilateral economic relations adding that one domain that should be given increased attention is that of the defence industry. In fact, the talks between the two high officials also focused on the security situation at the Black Sea against the background of the conflict in Ukraine.
Marcel Ciolacu reiterated Romania’s support for the neighbouring Ukraine and the intention of Bucharest to actively contribute to its reconstruction process. The officials also tackled the EU’s enlargement process.
Marcel Ciolacu: “We have reiterated our staunch support for the European future of the partners in the Western Balkans, as well as the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine on the candidates’ own merits in the reform process. We have also mentioned Romania’s appreciation for the sustained efforts of the authorities in Chisinau to implement the needed reforms and have emphasized the fact that we will continue to staunchly support the Republic of Moldova on its way to European integration.”
The officials also had a meeting with the representatives of the Romanian community in the region. “Romania is also important because more than 213 thousand Romanian nationals are living in Bavaria, the largest foreign community. They have their own contribution and we are happy to have them here – Markus Soder said.
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