The candidate of the „Romania Forward” electoral alliance in the 2025 presidential elections, Crin Antonescu, on Saturday stated, in Bacau, that Romania needs a strong foreign policy, based on cooperation with the European Union and the United States of America, but also reconciliation at home.
He mentioned, during a press conference, that Romania’s foreign policy in the last decade has not been without achievements, and, as for the future, in his opinion, Romania must be a stronger presence within the European Union and urgently restore the relationship with the United States of America.
„Romania’s foreign policy, if I were to give you just two examples, also included good moments, such as the summit meeting at the White House between Donald Trump and Klaus Iohannis, during Donald Trump’s first term. It also included moments of success, such as our full accession to the Schengen area and the lifting, in the first instance, I am talking about the activity, efforts and targets of the Romanian state now, of the Visa Waiver (…) I agree that Romania’s presence was not strong enough and I agree, in any case, that the future president must have a strong mandate on foreign policy, a national defence strategy with which to come to Parliament, a national foreign policy strategy with which to come to Parliament, a programme, a set of actions, a set of reforms, if we can still use this word, and a set of emergencies. Because you asked me about emergencies, I think that the first emergency in the foreign policy plan of Romania, which is a member of the European Union, which operates as such (…), Romania will have to be a stronger, more profiled presence at the European Council table, within the European Union. The first urgency is the complete restoration of the functional relationship of communication and partnership with the United States,” stated Crin Antonescu.
Domestically, Antonescu pleaded for reconciliation and national unity, stating that the future head of state will have to be able to unite Romanian society, which has become increasingly divided in recent times.
„That is, the one who wins will have to know how to address and behave towards the supporters of the one who loses or those who, out of disappointment, will not show up to vote, so that they understand that we are together, that we can only win together and that, in the end, not one person or another must be the winner of these confrontations, but all of us,” said Crin Antonescu.
AGERPRES
