George Gabriel Bologan
Ambassador of Romania to the Kingdom of Spain
On November 23, Romania and Spain marked a milestone in their bilateral relationship with the first Spanish-Romanian Summit, held in Castellón de la Plana. It is a historic moment that marks a new level in our strategic partnership, defined by the authenticity of the friendship between our peoples and the cultural and historical affinities between our countries. We share the common characteristics and challenges of the border states of the European Union, but we also have common aspirations and projects in a number of areas of common interest.
After the visit of the President of the Spanish Government to Bucharest at the beginning of this year, followed last September by the first visit, since Romania joined the EU, of a Romanian Minister of the Interior to Spain, on November 23 we held the first intergovernmental meeting with the priority objective of intensifying bilateral cooperation in the political, diplomatic, economic, social and human fields. On this occasion, the representatives of both countries will sign a series of memorandums of understanding in areas such as foreign policy, culture, health, labor and social protection, agriculture and civil protection.
The event takes on special significance given that this year we celebrate the 141st anniversary of the establishment of the Romanian-Spanish diplomatic relations, an indicator of stability and of our special relationship that reflects first and foremost the depth of the ties existing between Romania and Spain. The first Spanish-Romanian Summit also takes on special significance in the context of this year’s 40th anniversary of Spain’s accession to NATO and the fact that in the second half of next year Spain will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
During the forthcoming Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Romania will be a reliable partner and a point of support for the fulfillment of the Spanish mandate. Collaboration between all EU Member States must be strengthened in order to make it more relevant. Collaboration, as Ortega y Gasset underlined, is the way of life that characterizes Europeans and this is the spirit in which we wish and in which the summit will take place. We want to continue to build on the opportunities for cooperation that we already have, to highlight the many common objectives and points of view on the three levels that unite us: the bilateral relationship, our joint membership of the European Union and our status as NATO allies.
The human dimension of the successful bilateral relationship, whose soul is the Romanian community in Spain and the Spanish community in Romania, makes this partnership both special and strong, with a common history and shared plans for the future. This is especially due to the fact that mobility in the EU is necessary for the development of the European economy, cultural interaction and, especially, human interaction, which contribute to the development of the sense of European citizenship. Romanian citizenship undoubtedly represents a real resource for the host country. The recognized work, the revitalization by Romanians of important localities or economic sectors, the European culture and spirituality that characterize us and numerous common affinities, to which is added the growing number of mixed families, are just some of the elements that define the special relationship between Romania and Spain.
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