Accession to the Schehngen space and support for the Republic of Moldova, two of the priorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 2023
Accession to the Schehngen space and support for the Republic of Moldova, two of the priorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 2023
The continuation of the steps for the accession of the Schengen area and their support in the European Moldova of the Republic of Moldova are some of the priorities of the Romanian diplomas in 203, according to the annual report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – “The milestones of Romania’s diplomatic actions”.
Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, our country “will continue to support the creation of a mechanism for holding accountable those responsible for the crime of aggression committed in Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine.”
Schengen and OECD accession are highlighted in the 2023 milestones chapter of the report.
“The MAE will thus continue to give priority attention, including by ensuring the necessary resources, to the continuation of intensive efforts to support Romania’s accession to the Schengen area, as well as our country’s accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),” the document states.
Regarding the role of a member of NATO, the MFA claims that it will promote Romania’s strategic priorities within the Alliance, including in the perspective of the NATO Summit in Vilnius in 2023. In this sense, the Romanian ministry advocates for greater attention to be paid to strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defense on the Eastern Flank, in order to defend national security, and in the Black Sea area, as an area of strategic importance for Euro-Atlantic security.
The steps for the integration of our countries into the Visa Waiver program are also mentioned.
Regarding the state in the region, the MFA states that “Romania will continue to actively provide assistance and multidimensional support to Ukraine and will support the European route and orientation, respectively Euro-Atlantic, as the case may be, of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia”.
At the same time, it will continue to support the Republic of Moldova on a political-diplomatic level, the necessary reforms for European products, on an economic level, energy security and other relevant fields. In this context, the increased involvement at the level of the Support Platform for the Republic of Moldova, launched by Romania together with Germany and France, is evoked.
Moreover, the Romanian ministry shows that it will contribute to the preparation of the Summit of the Three Seas Initiative, which will be hosted by the President of Romania, in Bucharest, in 2023 and in this sense calls for “the continuation of a pragmatic diploma and connected to Romania’s objectives in . on economic and technological progress, regional, European and global connectivity”.
Romania will celebrate, in 2023, three decades since it has been a full member state of the International Organization of La Francophonie and the 30th anniversary of Romania’s accession to the Council of Europe.
For the reform within the institutions of Romanian diplomacy, according to the report, “MAE will continue to take steps for the periodic organization of competitions for admission to the Diplomatic and Consular Corps of Romania to ensure the coverage, gradually, of all the necessary staff”. Also, according to the cited document, “the modernization and efficiency measures of the Romanian Diplomatic Institute will be continued”.
At the beginning of 2023, Romania takes over two new NATO Contact Point Embassy mandates (Contact Point Embassy – CPE) in Georgia, respectively in Jordan, for a period of two years (2023-2024), following NATO’s decision in this regard.
In Georgia, the mandate of the EPC will, for the first time, be exercised jointly with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is the third time that Romania holds this quality in Georgia, the previous CPE mandates taking place in the period 2013-2016.