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President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday reiterated Romania's desire to join the Schengen area as soon as possible.
"I underlined Romania's support for more efficient management of the EU's borders. I reiterated Romania's desire to join the Schengen area as soon as possible," Iohannis said at a joint conference in Bucharest with visiting Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte.
He said that the relationship with the Netherlands has a very important economic and social component, adding that the country is the first foreign investor in Romania and that many jobs are created as a result of direct Dutch investment in Romania.
He also emphasised the role of the Romanian community in the Netherlands.
"The bilateral relationship has received in recent years a new, important, interesting component - a community of Romanians, about 30,000 Romanians living in the Netherlands, a predominantly young, well-prepared, well-integrated community that, I think, can contribute in a very positive way to the development of the Netherlands," said Iohannis.
The talks between the two officials also focused on the future of the EU.
"Even if we do not have identical opinions in all cases, it is very important to note that both the Netherlands and Romania are working toward the same common goal: consolidating European unity," said Iohannis, who welcomed the speech of EC President Jean Claude-Juncker.
In this context, he underscored that the EU needs real solidarity among member states.
"Such solidarity must come from a unanimous commitment to respect the European treaties, and obviously the values and principles contained therein. As president of Romania, I have supported and will continue to support the unprecedented effort to build a modern state buttressed by a consolidated democracy, the rule of law and human rights. These fundamental lynchpins are our national lynchpins, and they are the European benchmarks we are imposing," said Iohannis.
He pointed out that the talks also referenced the priorities of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019 and the preparations for the Sibiu European summit of May 9, 2019.
"I agreed with Prime Minister Rutte that the future agenda of the EU must find an appropriate reflection in the European Union's budget for the post-2020 period. I underlined that Romania, as the next country to assume the presidency of the EU Council, will prioritise negotiations over the multi-annual financial framework. I also showed that Romania is ready to get involved in advancing debates on other important topics, such as strengthening the economic and monetary union, an important subject that I detailed. Romania maintains that it is essential to ensure transparency toward non-euro area member states and we are pleased that the Netherlands supports such approach. A particular subject I addressed was EU's internal security, including migration. I mentioned Romania's intention to continue to get involved, including as holder of the EU Council presidency, in consolidating the tools the EU has to manage these themes, and there is a great need for it," said Iohannis.
Iohannis and Rutte also talked about the UK pulling out of the EU.
"Both countries support preserving the unity of the EU 27, the completion of the withdrawal agreement this autumn, and they want the relationship between the European Union and the UK to be based on a comprehensive partnership in the future," Iohannis said.
The two officials also addressed the European Union's external relations, with both countries supporting a solid transatlantic relationship.
