Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu met on Monday with Finnish Minister of European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen, who is currently on a working visit to Romania; on this occasion, the Romanian top diplomat highlighted Romania’s desire for scaling up political, diplomatic and sectoral dialogue, as well as for enhancing bilateral economic cooperation, the Foreign Ministry informs, according to Agerpres.

The two officials agreed that cooperation within the EU is very good, especially in the context of the complex challenges generated by the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine.

Minister Aurescu detailed the case of Romania’s Schengen accession, thanking in this context for Finland’s favorable vote at the December 8 JHA Council meeting and for the constant support shown. He also emphasized the definite added value that Romania, as a full-fledged Schengen member, will generate for strengthening the security of the entire European Union.

In her turn, the visiting Finnish minister reaffirmed her country’s full and active support for Romania’s Schengen bid.

The two foreign ministers exchanged views on the difficult security context generated by Russia’s war against Ukraine, emphasizing the importance of joint EU action and of maintaining the multidimensional support to Ukraine, but also to the Republic of Moldova, which is faced with multiple challenges.

Aurescu briefly presented the measures adopted by Romania in support of Ukraine, including facilitating the entry into the country of over 3.3 million refugees and the transit of over 11 million tons of Ukrainian grain and agricultural products. He showed that Romania’s support to Ukraine was also achieved through the use of international law instruments, as Romania supports the creation of an effective mechanism to bring to justice those responsible for the aggression committed through Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine.

The Romanian top diplomat evoked Romania’s firm support for the enlargement of the European Union, both as concerns the partners with candidate status or European perspective from the Eastern Neighborhood – the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia, and Western Balkan states, with an emphasis on a merit-based approach in progress assessment, and the importance of ensuring comprehensive, deep and credible reforms in order to fulfill the accession criteria. To this effect, he mentioned the necessity to provide assistance and expertise to the candidate and potential candidate states for the advancement of the reforms required for accession.

Tytti Tuppurainen thanked for the support extended, including personally by Minister Aurescu, for Finland’s NATO accession, while Bogdan Aurescu showed that Romania will stay actively engaged in this process, including through the mandate of its Embassy in Helsinki as NATO Contact Point.

Agerpres