11 March 2003
Prime Minister Tony Blair has called the accession of Romania to full EU membership ‘the right thing not just for Romania but for Europe’.
He added that the move is ‘important for all of us’.
Mr Blair made the comments following talks with the Romanian Prime Minister, Adrian Nastase, at Downing Street.
Read a transcript of press conference in full
Prime Minister
First of all can I say how delighted I am to see the Romanian Prime Minister here, to thank him very much for his support and his leadership at a difficult time for the world, to emphasise the strength of our bilateral relationship, which has really grown in the last few years, and it has grown economically, although we discussed what more we can do in that field which I think is important for both our countries because we regard Romania increasingly as a strategic partner for us in that part of Europe. And also of course politically we are very strong supporters of Romanian membership of NATO and the European Union, we want the negotiations conducted and concluded under this Commission. We think the accession date of 1 January 2007 is very important and we want to hold to that, and I think that for people in Romania I would like to say how much we admire the efforts that they have made, the changes that have happened in your country, which have been difficult to do for all the reasons we know, but which are bringing Romania into the centre of the community of nations in Europe and in the wider world. And so for all those reasons I am delighted to welcome the Prime Minister here and I thank him very much, as I say, for his support in what is a difficult time for the world where we are facing very difficult negotiations at the moment in the United Nations and the support of Romania and other countries in the region has been of tremendous benefit to us. So many thanks for that, and just to assure you once again Prime Minister, you have our total support in the negotiations that lie ahead for European Union membership.
Romanian Prime Minister
Thank you very much. Let me say a few words, Prime Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is a great pleasure for me to be back here and at a very special moment in the history of our continent, of our world. But let me say once again how grateful we are to the British government for the support we have had from the Prime Minister, from his colleagues, concerning our major projects, European integration, Romania becoming a member of NATO, Romania going out from that status of no man’s land, from a country which was considered outside the major design in international politics. Now we want to be a partner first of all, a friend, we want to express our concerns, our wishes. We came out from dictatorship, we want to make it very clear which are the values that we support, we want to make it very clear that we know which are the enemies of the civilised world, we want to make it very clear that we want to generate at the level of our community, the community we want from now on to belong to, where there is a tolerant attitude but at the same time a tough one when there is a need to act. That is why when discussing about international issues it was important for us to be briefed and to understand which are the major risks and which are the things which might need our support in the near future. We consider that we had to act, taking into account that NATO and the European Union, European members, the United States, are part of the same community of values, the same community of interests.
We discussed major bilateral projects. There are a few ideas that we shared concerning some of the major Romanian companies, that we can work in generating possible economic bridges between our two countries. And I also expressed the wish that in the near future the Romanians could travel to the United Kingdom without a visa, and I have got the assurance of the Prime Minister that this would be taken into account, and gradually taking into consideration also the problems which exist in British society, in Great Britain, but this would be a decision which will be taken as soon as possible.
I am very glad after our conversation and very much encouraged to continue this bilateral consultation as part of a global consultation at a time when important decisions have to be taken concerning major events in our time.
Question and Answer Session
Question
We met in 1999 when you said that Romania is going to start new accession talks in Bucharest and you really gave the most important support to our country. Sir, right now it looks like President Chirac is very much upset with the Romanian position. How do you see now the Romanian accession in the EU and are you going to do something special in the bilateral relations among Britain and Romania?
Prime Minister
Just before I answer that, can I just say a word about the visa issue, because the Prime Minister did press me on that. Obviously we have had a problem here we have had to deal with, we are dealing with it, we now have a readmission agreement that is important and I will certainly consider very carefully what the Prime Minister has said and we will see how we can work on achieving the solution he wants as soon as possible.
In respect of Romania and its accession, when I came to Bucharest and made that speech, I was determined to see it through, I remain absolutely determined to see it through. I think it is the right thing not just for Romania but for Europe, and I hope that nobody attempts to put obstacles in the way of that happening because it is important for all of us. And I was saying earlier this morning, and let me just repeat, Europe and America on the big issues should try and stand together. We don’t need a world in which people are forced to choose between Europe and America. This is not safe, it is dangerous for the world if we start to polarise opinion in that way, and that is why I am trying to find a way through in the United Nations that brings us back together in this issue of Iraq and I will work as hard as I can to do it because believe me, the only people who will ever gain from countries being pushed into a position where they choose either for the transatlantic alliance or for Europe, the only people who gain are the bad people. For all of us, and particularly for countries that have gone through the difficult period that a country like Romania has gone through, and emerged now as a democracy, capable of taking its place in NATO and in Europe, what we need to do is to keep that transatlantic alliance together, and that is what I believe in, I believe in a partnership between Europe and America. A partnership means the conversation has to go both ways, which is what I say to America too, but let us be partners together, not rivals. Rivals is bad news for everyone.
Romanian Prime Minister
And may I add that I think it is very important to underline the fact that the British attitude in our opinion is very wise, trying to get a compromise at a difficult time. And I told the Prime Minister how much we appreciate the effort he makes, because it is clear that if we remain prisoners of our own decisions or attitudes or behaviours, or if we relate only to our public opinion, we might arrive at a time when there would be very little to be done and we may regret it. That is why it is important right now to have this kind of attitude, based on clear issues, while at the same time we are trying to advance amendments and new ideas in the framework of very tough and clear decision-making.
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