President Klaus Iohannis reiterated, in Prague, Romania’s position regarding the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and the continuation of our country’s constant support, on multiple levels, including in preparation for winter, in the context of the new escalations generated by the Russian Federation, shows the Presidential Administration, according to Agerpres.

The head of state participated, on Friday, in the Czech capital city, at the informal meeting of the European Council, in which context he expressed Romania’s openness to the reconstruction process, highlighting the need for good coordination at the European level for the efficient management of this process.

The main topics on the agenda of the European Council meeting concerned the situation in Ukraine, on all dimensions, the developments in the field of energy, from the point of view of the impact of high prices and efforts for security of supply, as well as the economic situation at the European level.

As to the situation in Ukraine, the European leaders firmly rejected and unequivocally condemned the illegal annexation by the Russian Federation of the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson from Ukraine, following the fake referendums. The EU leaders reaffirmed the decision to continue to provide support to Ukraine as long as it will be necessary, from a financial, political, military, humanitarian point of view, including in terms of preparing for the winter.

Also, the President of Romania pleaded for „maintaining a strong, prompt and clear response from the Union to the aggression of the Russian Federation and firmly rejected the action of illegal annexation of the four regions of Ukraine.”

He welcomed the adoption of a new set of restrictive measures, the eighth, showing that it is necessary to maintain high pressure on the Russian Federation, highlighting, at the same time, the importance of transatlantic coordination and with other international partners.

He also emphasized once again the concern about the effects of the war on other partners in the region, stressing the need to continue supporting the Republic of Moldova, an extremely vulnerable state in the face of these developments.

Regarding food security, the European Union will continue to facilitate the export of agricultural products from Ukraine, European leaders requesting the extension of the Black Sea Grains Initiative, promoted by the UN Secretary General.

As to energy security, the discussions of the European leaders focused, in particular, on the impact of high energy prices on the population and industry and the need for a coordinated European response to address this situation.

„In the context in which the Russian Federation uses energy as a weapon to undermine the economic power of the EU, the European leaders reiterated the decision to respond in a coordinated manner to ensure security of supply, including by identifying mutually beneficial partnerships, mitigating the impact of high prices on consumers, especially the vulnerable ones and through measures aimed at reducing energy demand”, the press release of the Presidential Administration shows.

The leaders also condemned the recent acts of sabotage in the Baltic Sea regarding the North Stream I and II pipelines and agreed to intensify cooperation to protect critical European infrastructure.

The President of Romania pleaded for the continuation of coordination at the EU level, in order to overcome the common challenges in this field, welcoming the measures adopted so far, but emphasizing that additional actions are needed, mainly focused on the sustainable reduction of energy prices.

In the context of maintaining the high level of energy prices, a constant concern for our country, Klaus Iohannis recalled the need to adopt measures to ensure the decoupling of the price of electricity from the price of natural gas.

Also, the head of state pleaded for the need to further diversify the supply of natural gas from multiple and reliable sources, the use of indigenous resources, the development of infrastructure projects and the consolidation of interconnections, welcoming in this context the recent operationalization of the interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria.

At the same time, he reiterated the fact that the measures taken at the European level must also take into account the energy security of the Republic of Moldova, which needs immediate support in view of the cold season.

Regarding the economic situation, the debates of the leaders of the European Union focused on the high prices for households and businesses that led to significant levels of inflation in the member states, measures to support economic growth and jobs, as well as preserving the integrity of the Single Market.

Agerpres