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ForMin Odobescu: Romania has been a permanent advocate for Western Balkan countries' EU integration
Romania has been a permanent advocate for the Western Balkan countries and for its Eastern partners - the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia - in terms of their path towards integration into the European Union, Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu told AGERPRES on Friday, as she toured Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro.
She stressed that there is no competition in terms of Romania's support for various states.
"It is very important for us as Europeans, members of the same family, to stand together, share the same values and strengthen our resilience in the face of multiple crises. And here I am not only referring to security crises, but also to the economic effects and the need to ensure energy independence, to ensure our resilience in general. Romania has always been an advocate both for the countries of the Western Balkans and for our partners in the East - the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia - and we believe that this can be done in parallel, there is no competition, it is a process on its own merits, and our objective, besides the message of political support that has always existed, was also one of encouragement, to explain how important the reforms in various sectors are for these countries, for the citizens of these countries, with examples from Romania, what the process of European integration has meant for us," said Odobescu, told Agerpres.
She mentioned that in the three Balkan capitals she felt "a mobilisation and a recognition of the political importance of the accession process for these countries."
Luminita Odobescu brought to mind that the EU Executive published on 8 November the Annual Enlargement Report which looks at the stages of the integration processes and recommendations for the next steps.
Romania is ready to offer expertise in the area of European integration based on its own experience, she said.
Romania also expressed its readiness to provide expertise in the energy area. "The European Commission has recently presented a growth plan for the Western Balkans that is similar to the national recovery and resilience plans that Romania has with the European Union and we have encouraged these countries to use the available financial resources to invest in sensitive sectors such as the energy sector and to focus on diversification, in order to be less dependent on a single energy source," explained Luminita Odobescu.
The Foreign Minister also highlighted the cooperation with the three countries on cyber security. "These countries have been under permanent cyber attacks and through our expertise, both through the National Directorate and the European Centre in Bucharest, it is very important to cooperate more closely in these areas," said Odobescu.
During her visits to Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro, she stressed the importance of reforms not only for EU integration, but also for the development of these countries.
