In a reaction to a statement by President Nicusor Dan, former Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu said on Tuesday that Romania was fully prepared to join the European Union, stressing that otherwise the EU would not have agreed to the hopeful's integration.
President Nicusor Dan said on Tuesday that 20 years ago Romania was unprepared to join the European Union, but this was the right decision to make, as proves our country's subsequent progress.
According to Tariceanu, the president's statement is "not only inappropriate, but also deeply offensive for Romania".
"More than 18 years after Romania's accession to the European Union I have lived to hear a president who says, neither more nor less, that our country was not ready to become a member of the Union. Such a statement is not only inappropriate, but is also deeply offensive for Romania and for all those who, with enormous efforts, have made our European integration possible. Let me remind Mr. Nicusor Dan that over the period 2004 - 2007, Romania traveled an extremely difficult path, in which each accession criterion was implemented through serious work and through the sacrifice of many experts and institutions. I had the honor of serving as prime minister at that historic moment and I can say, without the fear of erring, that Romania was perfectly ready. Otherwise, the European Union would not have acquiesced to our integration," Calin Popescu-Tariceanu wrote on Facebook.
He termed the head of the state's approach as "dangerous" and "irresponsible". "I don't know what Mr. Nicusor Dan was doing at the time, he was probably busy with mathematical calculations or NGO activism, but he certainly is unaware of the reality of that period, nor did he contribute in any way to the huge effort that paved Romania's way to the European Union. It's regrettable to see that, instead of defending the dignity of the country he leads, President Nicusor Dan chooses to project a distorted image abroad, as if Romania's EU admission was not on merit. This is a dangerous and irresponsible approach," declared the former prime minister.
Romania joined the European Union because it was ready and because it met the established criteria, Tariceanu underscored.
"The 2007 accession was a victory for the Romanian nation, a moment that opened the way for modernization and development. Any attempt to rewrite this reality represents an act of contempt towards the past and towards the people who made our European integration possible. I ask President Nicusor Dan to stop questioning one of the most important moments in Romania's recent history. His statements only deepen distrust and affect the image of our country exactly where it should be defended with the greatest care, in Europe," the former prime minister added.
Attending the Timisoara Cities Summit, President Nicusor Dan said that 20 years ago, Romania was unprepared to join the European Union. "To put it bluntly, 20 years ago, when it completed the accession process, I think that Romania was not ready to join the European Union and I believe that neither was Bulgaria. Yet the EU's decision to greenlight its accession was the correct one, and today we can see the progress Romania has made after 18 years of effective membership," said the head of the state.
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