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AGERPRES special correspondent Florentina Peia reports: President Klaus Iohannis on Monday said that Romania supports the new package of sanctions against Russia, pointing out that he will insist that the European Council's statement include a solidarity clause.
"We are talking about Ukraine from several points of view. We are discussing how to support Ukraine, in humanitarian terms, of course, and also in terms of finances, and we are looking for ways to support Ukraine's economy, to facilitate the export of wheat, which is also related to another issue, namely food security. But we are also discussing the already famous six package of sanctions, which has been discussed here in Brussels for several weeks. And I mean now the package of sanctions on gas and oil. It is very complicated, because many European economies depend on these raw materials. (...) We agree to promote this new package of sanctions, but in order not to be surprised by later developments, we insisted for a so-called solidarity clause to be included in the text, and I will continue to insist that this clause remains, which means that, should something happen, the Member States and the Commission will be able to take urgent action to come, for example, in our support in the event of a supply cut in the Black Sea," the head of state said before attending a special European Council meeting.
He said that this package of sanctions may contain a "timing" clause for some of them.
The head of state said the talks at the European Council will also include financial support for Ukraine.
"It is clear that Ukraine, without support, will face major difficulties," the head of state said.
He added that solutions would be sought regarding food security, and Romania could offer "significant" support.
Another topic on the agenda of the extraordinary European Council meeting is energy.
"We need to find solutions to disconnect from the resources of the Russian Federation, but also to keep energy prices at a competitive level and ultimately at a level that people can afford," he said. .
The talks will also focus on security and defence, with the head of state pointing out that Romania has an interest in being part of the effort to improve the performance of the European defence industry.
"We want to improve the performance of the European defense industry. There is money available for this. Romania has an interest in being part of this endeavor and we support every effort, with an important remark: everything that is done in the field of security and defence must be done in complementarity and in correlation with NATO, otherwise things become difficult to coordinate," mentioned Klaus Iohannis.
The special meeting of the European Council takes place on Monday and Tuesday in Brussels.
AGERPRES.
