| THE PRIORITIES OF ROMANIAN DIPLOMACY 02/09/2009 |
| (2009-09-02) |
| Last updated: 2009-09-04 14:26 EET |
Although Romania only became a member of the two major western alliances, the EU and NATO, in the last decade, it has assumed all the rights and obligations of a full-fledged member. Therefore, authorities in Bucharest wish to become involved in both revising NATO's new strategic concept, as well as in finalising the EU's institutional reform through the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty. Romania also promises to honour its commitments to its European and NATO-member partners with respect to Afghanistan. Looking eastwards, Diaconescu said that despite what he called “artificial tensions” created by the anti-Romanian former government in Chisinau, Romania would continue to support Moldova's European aspirations. He also called for a pragmatic relationship with Russia, especially in the economic field. Pragmatism was actually one of the key aspects of the instructions given by the minister to the Romanian consuls and ambassadors attending the meeting. Here is Cristian Diaconescu.
“With regard to the matter of re-launching the country's economy, we need to work more closely with the ministries involved, in order to put the opportunities offered to our country by the EU to good use. I'm talking, first of all, about supporting energy-related projects and rural development in Romania. Our country needs to be well prepared and properly defend these projects in Brussels, in order to benefit from EU money.”
Another display of pragmatism and exercise of austerity in times of crisis is the ministry's intention to start paying diplomats abroad in the national currency, the Romanian Leu, and not in local currencies, such as before. The ministry also intends to downsize the personnel in several diplomatic missions in Europe, South America and the Far East. According to Diaconescu, these measures will lead to saving as much as 2 million Euros per year. On the other hand, Romania will also try to get back into economic areas and markets it has neglected during the last 20 years, by boosting its diplomatic presence in Central Asia and the Middle East.
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2025-04-03
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