Iohannis reiterates Romania's commitment to supporting European prospects of most committed Eastern partners

On Thursday, President Klaus Iohannis participated in an Eastern Partnership summit, held by videoconference.

According to a statement from the Presidential Administration, President Iohannis reiterated in his speech Romania's commitment to supporting the European prospects of the most committed Eastern partners, in line with individual progress. He also expressed Romania's support for a more ambitious approach of the European Union in terms of security co-operation able to respond to the legitimate interests of the union and the partner states in the region.

"President Klaus Iohannis encouraged partner states to continue the processes of implementing the reforms agreed upon with the European Union that are essential to amass concrete benefits for citizens and, depending on the level of ambition defined in their relations with the European Union, to make progress on the way toward achieving their European aspirations," reads the statement.

Iohannis also underlined the special importance of agreeing on concrete sectoral objectives under the Eastern Partnership likely to generate priority projects under the post-2020 agenda and to lead to strengthened regional co-operation and enhanced resilience of the partnership states.

An important matter addressed at the meeting was the management of the common challenges posed by misinformation and the amplification of hybrid actions, in which context Iohannis spoke in favor of strengthening strategic communication and responsible involvement of partner country officials in order to promote the real benefits of the partnership to the public.

Iohannis highlighted the consistent support provided by Romania to Moldova and Ukraine in order to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic amounting to over 3.5 million euros, and 1.75 million euros, respectively, as well as the provision of healthcare professionals.

The meeting was attended by the presidents of Ukraine and Azerbaijan, the prime ministers of Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Belarus, together with heads of state or government of the European Union's member states.

The meeting of leaders of the EU member states and the Eastern Neighbourhood partner countries provided an opportunity to reaffirm the common commitment to the core values and objectives of strengthening the Eastern Partnership and to send a message of unity and solidarity amidst regional challenges worsened by the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic. Ahead of the summit meeting planned for early 2021, the discussions aimed to set strategic lines for developing the objectives of the Eastern Partnership post-2020, but also assessing the concrete support of the European Union to manage the effects of COVID-19 crisis and the impact on economies in the region.

The consultations on the future of the Eastern Partnership launched under Romania's presidency of the Council of the European Union showed a broad consensus on further consolidating this successful initiative, as well as on the important role of the results generated by it to the benefit of the citizens of the partner states, according to the Presidential Administration.