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The discussion on military service should have had a natural order, from the president of Romania, then to Parliament and then General Gheorghe Vlad should come up with arguments, Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) Chairman Kelemen Hunor said on Tuesday.
According to him, everything must be placed in the current context, "when there is this war in the vicinity of Romania that shows no signs of ending very soon."
"Romania has gone through and continues to go through a modernisation of the Army. Of course, the discussion is with this voluntary service, because otherwise we would have to amend the Constitution and I don't think we would have support for a solution where we would go back to the compulsory service. (...) Maybe it would be better if this statement was made by the President of Romania, who is also the commander of the Army, and then it would probably be understood differently. But the Chief of General Staff is right when he says that Romania must prepare for anything - that's what everyone in Europe is doing, without panicking, without creating panic, without saying that war is imminent. It is not, there is no such danger and this must be stated again. If we have created the context we can discuss the details. (...) So this would have been the natural order, a political discussion, a discussion from the President of Romania, then in Parliament and then of course General Vlad and those who are in charge of the army will come with their arguments and support from that area," said the UDMR leader on Digi24 tv private television broadcaster.
He added that there is no imminent danger, but at the same time it must be seen that the world has not changed for the better.
"We must calm down. First of all there is no imminent danger, but it must be seen that the world has changed and not for the better. And if we look at everything that is happening and what the forecasts are for this development in our area, I am not very optimistic either. Romania and any state invests in security, in the safety of its citizens, this is what happens in Poland and Slovakia and Hungary and the UK, so Romania is no exception, only our approach is a bit unusual. (...) If society is not prepared and there is no calm approach, then immediately people panic and this must be understood by General Vlad and by politicians and by some who support it and by others who do not," said Kelemen Hunor.
The UDMR leader drew attention to the fact that there is a responsibility both at the Army level and at political level.
"Whether we like it or not, there is a responsibility both at the level of the Army and at the political level when you have to approach any such problem in context and with arguments and first of all with responsibility and you have to reassure the population. If we do something, and it is long term, and the investments in the Army and the Army's equipment, we must do it with arguments and over a longer period of time. It cannot be done from one day to the next, that is clear," Kelemen Hunor said. (...) I see the polls and it is absolutely not attractive for young people to join the Army. No, it is a different generation, with different desires, with different values. (...) President Iohannis should probably talk to the Romanian Parliament at some point," Kelemen Hunor said.
