Romania’s accession to the Schengen area and the responsible and efficient involvement of our country in protecting the external border of the European Union was a priority topic of the meeting between the interim president of the Senate, Alina Gorghiu and her French counterpart, Gerard Larcher, according to Agerpres.

According to a release from the Senate, the meeting with Gerard Larcher was also attended by the first vice-president of the French Senate, Roger Karoutchi, the president of the Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces, Christian Cambon, the vice-president of the Committee for European Affairs and Schengen rapporteur, Andre Reichardt, and the president of the France-Romania Friendship Group, Bernard Fournier.

The discussions highlighted the dynamic nature of the cooperation at the bilateral level, but also at the European and international level, being reiterated the common interest for the deepening and expansion of the parliamentary dialogue, in the framework offered by the strategic partnership between the two countries, states the quoted source.

The President of the French Senate proposed that the Romanian Senate host the next meeting of the Association of European Senates (ASE).

The two senior officials welcomed the adoption, by the European Parliament, of the Resolution on Romania’s accession to the Schengen area. Gorghiu showed that Romania’s action at all operational levels proves the essential contribution of our country to strengthening the internal security of the EU, emphasizing the exemplary way of managing the more than 2.5 million refugees who crossed Romania’s border, the press release also reads.

The discussions also highlighted the effective cooperation between Romania and France within NATO and the French contribution to strengthening the defense and deterrence position on the Eastern Flank.

Alina Gorghiu showed that President Macron’s decision to strengthen NATO’s military presence in Romania reconfirms the solid nature of the strategic partnership between the two states.

During the dialogue, topics related to the evolution of the security situation in the region, as well as the effects of the war started by the Russian Federation, were also discussed. In this context, Gorghiu presented the support provided by Romania to Ukraine and the Ukrainian refugees.

She also presented the assistance that Romania gives to the Republic of Moldova for strengthening resilience and managing the challenges faced by the authorities in Chisinau, as well as the importance of the Support Platform for the Republic of Moldova for backing efforts to advance reforms necessary for European integration.

The acting president of the Senate, Alina Gorghiu, is paying a working visit to the French Republic between October 18-21. She also had a meeting with the minister delegated next to the prime minister, responsible for equality between men and women, diversity and equal opportunities, Isabelle Rome.

The consultations concerned aspects related to standards and mechanisms for ensuring gender equality, diversity and equal opportunities, but also the promotion of women’s rights in the two countries. The discussions also referred to the assistance given to the Republic of Moldova, in the context of France’s hosting of the next edition of the Support Platform for Moldova.

The high Romanian dignitary also had a meeting with Annick Billon, the president of the Delegation for women’s rights and equal opportunities between men and women, on which occasion he emphasized the importance of the exchange of good practices for improving legislation in the field, mentioning the effectiveness of gender electoral quotas. The talks highlighted the common will to expand cooperation in the field at the bilateral and European level.

The interim president of the Senate also met with the president of the France-Romania Friendship Group in the French Senate, Bernard Fournier. The two officials addressed topics of priority interest on the bilateral political agenda, but also aspects of economic and sectoral cooperation and decentralized cooperation. Alina Gorghiu emphasized the priority given to the parliamentary dimension of the political dialogue, agreeing to the necessity of deepening cooperation to support common strategic objectives and interests.

Agerpres