The Diplomat
The Romanian ambassador to Spain, George Bologan, has presented the Spanish Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, with the highest decoration conferred by the president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis.
In an event held last Wednesday, the ambassador awarded Grande-Marlaska the Order “Star of Romania” in the rank of “Grand Officer”, in recognition of the support provided to Romania during the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, for the support for the country’s accession to the Schengen area, and for the exceptional contribution made to the promotion of bilateral relations, as indicated in a note by the Romanian Embassy in Madrid.
After receiving the decoration, the minister thanked the president, the prime minister and the Romanian ambassador and underlined “the role played by the Romanian community and the already historic ties built over time – a perfect symbiosis – with Spanish society and the need that arises from this set of factors for a Dual Nationality Agreement.”
Grande-Marlaska recalled his visit to Bucharest, in preparation for the semester of the Spanish Presidency of the EU and underlined “the excellent and fruitful cooperation in the fight against organized crime, terrorism and trafficking in human beings, not only at the bilateral level but also within the European Union.”
For his part, Ambassador Bologan highlighted the magnificent cooperation between Spain and Romania in internal affairs and called for unity at the European level: “Today, in Europe,” he stated, “security is the main topic of public debates, because the stability of the continent and democratic values are at stake when the security dimension is weakened. The security of citizens means well-being and progress. Police cooperation, direct dialogue between governments, it is important to seek and have the same criterion for all decisions. We are an example of cooperation in internal affairs, and people like examples that give them more confidence in the State.”
The head of the diplomatic mission added: “We must know how to thank our friends, show our gratitude and appreciation to those who declare themselves friends of Romania. The decision to recognize the merits of Minister Marlaska is part of this same philosophy.”
At the end of his message, George Bologan, who will end his mission in our country next Monday, reviewed the most important objectives achieved during his mandate as ambassador: “In these two years,” he emphasized, “Romania and Spain have managed to achieve a privileged level of bilateral relations in all sectors. Economic exchanges increased by 30%, we organized the first visit of a Romanian Minister of the Interior to Madrid after accession to the EU, we held the first Romanian-Spanish summit that highlighted the extraordinary potential that we have as strategic partners and we reached an agreement on dual nationality, a pro-European measure as well as a recognition of the role of the Romanian community for the economic and demographic development of Spain.”
