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| Romania and Europe |
| (2011-08-23) |
| Last updated: 2011-08-24 17:05 EET |
In the opinion of Romania’s President Traian Basescu, unitary economic and military policies are the solution for Europe to remain a major world player. He pleaded for what he calls the United States of Europe.
While the leitmotif of his discourse at the beginning of his term in office was “the reform of the Romanian state”, president Traian Basescu has now launched a new major issue for debate: the “United States of Europe” project.
An economy fragmented by different policies pursued by the 27 EU member states eats at competitiveness on the old continent, the Romanian President says. For over 10 years, Europe has constantly been losing ground in this respect, as compared to the United States or China.
Furthermore, without being an economic force, the Union can’t set up an appropriate military power, capable of enssuring the security of its half billion citizens. He admits that neither political decision makers, nor the citizens of European countries, are now ready to consent to the further limitation of their national sovereignty, a fact which might affect their culture and traditions.
However, President Basescu insists that only this way Europe can further be a relevant world player. The decision to set up the “United States of Europe” should be made within three years, President Traian Basescu said in an interview on the public television in Bucharest.
”If this decision is not made and the unification process is not implemented at both monetary and fiscal levels, it might be too late three years from now on, because the implementation of such a decision takes time. Of course, it sounds bad to know that the Romanian government will no longer set the level of the VAT, and that it will be set somewhere else, such as Brussels. It also sounds bad to know that there will no longer be a flat tax, but a progressive tax or that the flat tax will no longer be 16%, but 20%, or that it will stand at 8%. It spells bad news for anyone living in Romania. However, we will have to swallow this pill, if we want Europe to be viable”.
The president’s speech has been well received by the political class in Bucharest, in general. In principle, politicians in both the ruling coalition and opposition back the idea of enhanced European unity.
The daily newspaper ADEVARUL writes “the Romanian President’s statement is not singular, at least not in Central and Eastern Europe”. The newspaper notes that, against the backdrop of the debt crisis, Polish PM Donald Tusk, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU, has firmly said that the EU member states’ losing sovereignty is preferable to maintaining financial indiscipline.
That is why Warsaw does not hesitate to support a more rigorous economic governance, which allows the Union to establish a coherent development for the following decades.
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