There is quite a number of recurrent themes on
\nthe agenda of the EU diplomacy, from post-Brexit ties with London to the
\nincreasingly complicated relationship with the US. Also, the situation in
\nconflict areas in the proximity of the European Union is an equally frequent
\ntopic for discussion by the member states’ foreign ministers. Monday’s meeting
\nof the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels was no exception, as Ukraine and
\nSyria were high on the agenda of talks. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to the Romanian Foreign
\nMinister Teodor Melescanu, everybody agreed that the EU must get more actively
\ninvolved in finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis, which has been
\ngoing on for almost ten years and which has a direct impact on Europe, in
\nparticular through the waves of migrants and the return to Europe of some of the
\ncombatants there. As regards Ukraine, Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu called
\non the EU to convey once more a very clear message regarding the need for the
\nneighboring country’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity to be
\nrespected. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to the Radio Romania correspondent in Brussels, it was
\nlikely for the EU to seize the assets and ban the free circulation in the
\ncommunity area of the eight Russian citizens involved in last year’s incident
\nin the Kerch Strait, which ended in the arrest of several Ukrainian sailors.
\nMinister Melescanu explains why these sanctions have not been adopted yet:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
They are currently being analyzed by
\nthe EU but the main priority that we now have at EU level is taking the
\nnecessary steps to free the sailors arrested in the Kerch Strait. This has been
\nset as the main priority and, of course, discussions are to be held concerning the people believed to be involved in this
\narrest. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Romania’s other ex-Soviet neighbor, the mostly
\nRomanian-speaking Republic of Moldova, was also on the agenda of the EU Foreign
\nAffairs Council meeting. Parliamentary elections are scheduled in Moldova on
\nSunday, and analysts say the stake will be not only political, but also
\ngeopolitical. Opinion polls show Igor Dodon’s pro-Russian Socialists as
\nfavorites, with almost 40% of the votes, followed by the ACUM bloc, an
\nelectoral alliance of the pro-European right wing, with 25% and the centre-left
\nDemocratic Party, the main party of the current pro-Western government, with
\n15%. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Melescanu has made no secret out of the fact that he hopes the outcome of
\nthe Moldovan elections will be a majority that would continue its rapprochement
\nwith Europe. Romania believes that it would be a mistake for the EU to give up
\nthe financial and political investment it has made so far in the Republic of
\nMoldova, Melescanu also said. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Syria, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova have dominated the agenda of Monday’s EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":71822,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[31464,31455],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-80797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-foreign-policy","tag-melescanu"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n