Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said the enlargement of the European family by accepting new members will only strengthen the European Union. “We must integrate those who want to be with us and those we want to be with us – Ukraine, Moldova, the Western Balkans, some of those who have been trying to become part of the Union for 20 years,” the Romanian official stated in his address at the plenary sitting of the European Parliament.
“The historic decisions taken by the European Council in December 2023 on the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia, represent a victory for the entire European Union. This Parliament strongly supported this objective and I thank you for that,” noted Klaus Iohannis.
According to him, Romania and he personally supported and intensively promoted this objective. “And it confirms, I believe, the attractiveness of the Union in a very difficult period, strengthens its geopolitical relevance and creates opportunities for both member states and candidate countries. Enlargement is an essential part of our strategic response to geopolitical developments and a key investment in sustainable peace, stability and democracy in our neighborhood,” said the President of Romania.
The Romanian official referred to the architecture of the European Union, noting that it must be improved. “We must improve it, because if we welcome Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans, we will be a very large Union, and this decision-making process, especially in times of crisis – war, pandemic, energy crisis – must work properly, transparently, but also be very fast,” stated Klaus Iohannis.
In his opinion, it is not acceptable for a member to use the veto right to stop everyone from helping others. “So, if we are not yet in a position to generalize the qualified majority voting, which may look different than it is now – I don’t mean details – we should have the courage to say “No to veto” and remove it from the decision-making process. It is, for example, a concrete thing we can do,” the Romanian official noted.
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