The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Toiu, believes that the initiators of the simple motion against her wanted Romania not to be represented at ministerial level at the meeting of European Union foreign ministers.
She emphasizes that she did not give up her participation in the Foreign Affairs Council in order to send a "clear" message from Romania regarding the topics on the meeting's agenda.
At Monday's meeting of EU foreign ministers, sanctions against Russia and the European response to disinformation campaigns will be discussed - "two key issues for Romania," writes Oana Toiu in a Facebook post.
"I chose not to cancel Romania's presence at ministerial level because our position as a country bordering the war must be clear. Romania has a firm message aligned with the common European response. Let us be clear: we are the country that borders the EU with the war, and other countries, much further away from the conflict, are investing alongside us in common defense and investment instruments to protect this border. In this context, Romania cannot afford to be 'so-so', but must be present with an unwavering message," the minister said.
She claims that the initiators of the motion wanted their "voice against Romania" to be heard "louder" than the European voice, in a week that marks four years since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
"The motion against me was written by Mr. Ninel Peia, who changed parties after being voted in, and, of course, signed by Mr. Petrisor Peiu, who publicly stated that I cannot criticize those who take photos with Putin and that I cannot say that this is not Romania's position. Distancing oneself from Putin, in his view, is 'a diplomatic blunder'. He would probably be happy to sit down with Vladimir Putin for a photo now, but we would not. What these gentlemen are trying to do is to ensure that Romania is not represented at ministerial level at this meeting. So they copied their own motion on Mercosur, which they submitted to overlap with the Foreign Affairs Council," writes Oana Toiu.
She adds that the motion is also signed by AUR senators who were in the US to support "a lady in Congress who officially requested the US withdrawal" from NATO.
The minister emphasizes that, during her term in office, all discussions with Ukraine or about Ukraine at the European level have been presented to the public in a transparent manner. She explains that the new EU sanctions packages are necessary to prevent Russia from obtaining financial resources that would fuel the "war machine."
"We must do what we can, together, to slow their advance and prevent them from reaching our border. Disinformation campaigns, false information, images, and messages spread through tens of thousands of accounts are a real risk that has gone unaddressed for too long," writes Oana Toiu.
She stresses the importance of combating campaigns "that harm people through false advertising" and bank accounts that are difficult to trace.
"We don't just need a shield for democracy, we need to invest in resilience and immunity to disinformation campaigns, in a coordinated response at European level, because Russia is investing billions in them to destabilize the EU," the minister said.
The simple motion filed by opposition senators against Foreign Minister Oana Toiu for the "flawed, ideologized, and uncoordinated manner" in which she represented Romania's interests in the European decision-making process regarding the EU-Mercosur Agreement - Mercosur Agreement will be debated and voted on Monday in the Senate plenary session, according to the legislative forum's website.
The motion, entitled "Progressive diplomacy with hashtags has put Romanian agriculture at risk. Oana Toiu says 'yes' to others and 'no' to her own citizens," is signed by 43 senators (PACE - First Romania, AUR, and unaffiliated).
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