The Prime Minister of the Land of Bavaria, Markus Soder, who is currently paying an official visit to Bucharest, reiterated, on Monday, his support for Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area, while saying that in recent years Romania has made important progress in combating corruption and structural reforms, told Agerpres.
“Today’s visit is a form of appreciation that we show to Romania and the Romanian people, on the one hand, but, of course, we also start from old ties that we want to deepen. First of all, we very much appreciate the developments in Romania in the last couple of years. A few years ago, Romania was facing a difficult moment, not knowing what road to take. However, in terms of fighting corruption and initiating reforms, Romania has made great progress and deserves to be further supported,” said the high-ranked German official, according to the official translation, during the joint statement with Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, held at the Victoria Palace.
On the occasion of the visit, a joint declaration was signed focusing on the strengthening of bilateral relations between Romania and the Land of Bavaria.
On the same occasion, Soder welcomed the resumption of the activity of the Joint Governmental Committee between Romania and the Land of Bavaria.
“The first meetings have already taken place between the relevant ministers, Research and Economy, but we also want to contribute and help with the training in the dual system, the training of specialized personnel. Basically, this would be the scientific aspect, there is a scientific cooperation between Bavaria and Transylvania, but we also have collaborations with partners from Bucharest, collaborations in the IT field, artificial intelligence is very important. Bavaria invests more than all other federal states in artificial intelligence,” explained the German official.
He added that, in the future, there will be a close collaboration in the social field as well, starting from the projects that the former Bavarian minister Barbara Stamm developed in Romania.
Markus Soder mentioned that there is already good cooperation in the judicial and police fields, which must be developed.
He also voiced his appreciation for the support that Romania has given and continues to give to the refugee citizens of Ukraine.
“It is a great achievement and Bavaria has taken in many refugees, more than France, so basically we are also linked to this support given to Ukraine and we want to stay that way,” said Soder.
The Bavarian Prime Minister also highlighted the role of the Romanian community in Bavaria.
“It is the joint family we are in, many Romanian citizens who live and work in Bavaria, starting with the Swabians and Saxons from Transylvania and Banat, but the Romanian community is the largest community of foreigners in Bavaria, and we are proud of them, they work very well and I wish to greet you from their new homeland to their old homeland,” he said.
Markus Soder pointed out the need for the development of the European Union on an equal basis.
“It’s not just a visit to the neighborhood, it’s also the goal to continue development in Europe, it’s important that in Europe we treat all partners equally. We always consider ourselves in Germany as a bridge country for South-Eastern Europe, maybe because we are a little closer and understand the mentality,” he explained.
The Prime Minister of the State of Bavaria reiterated his support for Romania in what concerns its access to the Schengen area.
“We support Romania on its way to joining the Schengen Area. It is very important that we, in Europe, understand that here, especially, considering the situation with Ukraine and Russia, the challenges are at a completely different level. And we must not feel like teachers, but we must support each other and appreciate each other, we have seen the efforts and progress that have been made. It would also be good for Europe. We are not members of the 1st and 2nd class. We are all together and we have to support each other and we will only succeed if we support each other and not otherwise. Of course we appreciate the Austrians, we don’t always understand each other, but we have a very good relationship. Of course we have different opinions, like in any family, but let’s try to convince them to think at least once more about those who hold them back from agreeing to the accession,” Soder also stated.