Deepened Romanian-French Partnership
Cooperation in European domains of common interest and the consolidation of bilateral relations dominated Thursdays talks, in Bucharest, between the Romanian and French presidents, Klaus Iohannis and Emmanuel Macron
Bogdan Matei, 25.08.2017, 12:55
Although its foreign policy is firmly pro-America, Romania has never ignored its pro-France traditions. As of 1990s, all the presidents of France have visited post-Communist Romania. Francois Mitterand, Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy visited Romania to meet their Romanian counterparts Ion Iliescu, Emil Constantinescu and Traian Basescu, respectively.
Last year, at the end of his term in office, Francois Hollande included Romania in one of his last tours abroad. And now, just several months after investiture, the current French President Emmanuel Macron has come to Bucharest to agree with his counterpart Klaus Iohannis the deepening of the bilateral strategic partnership concluded in 2008. With the two presidents in attendance, agreements have been signed in the economic, military and cultural fields, as well as a declaration on extending the exclusivity agreement between the French helicopter company Airbus and its Romanian partner IAR from Brasov (central Romania) and a memorandum regarding the purchase of missiles from French companies.
President Iohannis has pleaded for boosting French investments into the Romanian economy and cooperation between France and Romania as regards the consolidation of the European project. Also he reiterated Romanias firm wish to be admitted into the Schengen area. Romania, the president said, had already acted de facto as a responsible state and had participated in all the efforts meant to strengthen the EUs external borders.
The president argued that Romanias Schengen accession would consolidate common security and would send a strong message in support of the EU. Alongside Germany and the Netherlands, France is one of the most influential members of the EU, which has not actually hidden, through its diplomatic statements, its reticence towards Romanias Schengen accession. Western partners have admitted that, technically, Bucharest complies with all criteria, but they say they are still concerned with the persistence of corruption in some Romanian institutions.
This time, President Macron has shown his full openness towards Romanias Schengen accession but he underlined that the Schengen Area was not functioning well, and that a reform of common rules was needed in this domain as well as a better control of borders. The French press, quoted by Radio Romanias correspondent to Paris, carried the Romanian Presidents statement regarding improvement of the European Posted Workers Directive, but he did not express a clear opinion on the need to modify it by January, as the French President wanted.
During his one-day visit to Bucharest, the French President also met with the PM Mihai Tudose, with French citizens who are living in Romania and he visited the National Village Museum. (Edited by D. Vijeu)
