Romania's road into the EU has gone via Finland
"Finland is Romania's political godfather. Our country's road into the EU seems to go around from Helsinki to Helsinki," pointed out Romanian Foreign Minister Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu, who visited Finland on the day before Midsummer's Eve, on 22 June. The decision to start accession negotiations with Romania was made in the Helsinki Summit in 1999, and now, according to Ungureanu, Romania is awaiting with confidence the circle to close and the final decision about the membership to be made during Finland's second Presidency this autumn. However, both Ungureanu and his host Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja underscored in their press conference on 22 June that the beginning of the membership does not mean an end to the reforms in Romania.
"We are not seeking just EU membership, but real integration into Europe," Ungureanu pointed out and emphasised that changing a society requires a long and many-staged process of development. "We do not want to bring any unresolved problems to the Union – on the contrary. Ultimately, Romania has lots of resources to bring into the Union." In spite of the future challenges, the Minister assured that Romania would be ready for the Union even today, since the most difficult negotiation issues, such as internal affairs and competition questions, have already been left behind.
The ongoing work for fulfilment of the Romanian accession criteria will be brought to a conclusion in September, after which the EU will decide when the membership will begin. Both the guest and the host were hopeful that the beginning of the membership will not be postponed. "The proof we have given will suffice in Brussels and in the member states," Ungureanu believed. "Formally, the question is still open, but we hope to have the Romanian membership project brought to a conclusion during our Presidency, so that the membership could start from the beginning of next year," Tuomioja said.
The Ministers also had extensive talks about European energy cooperation, and the Romanian Foreign Minister had presented the possibilities offered by the Black Sea region within the energy sector. Ungureanu pointed out that he had also taken up the issue of refugee flows that concern also other borders than those around the Mediterranean. As concerns bilateral questions, the topic discussed was border control. Both countries have long external borders of the EU, and Ungureanu hoped that the cooperation between the Ministries of the Interior and the transfer of Finnish expertise to the Romanians would expand. Finland's decision not to continue the transition period limiting the free movement of labour received commendation from the Romanian Minister.
During his visit to Finland, Foreign Minister Ungureanu also met the Chairman of the Parliamentary Grand Committee, MP Jari Vilén.