The Diplomat Romanian citizens living in Spain will be able to obtain dual nationality before the end of this year, according to the Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, after meeting yesterday in Bucharest with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. The two leaders held a bilateral meeting taking advantage of Sánchez's presence in the Romanian capital to participate in the meeting of the European Committee of the Socialist International. At the end of the meeting, Ciolacu made the announcement in a message on the social network Facebook and further specifies the agreement reached between the two countries in February 2024, which allows Romanians residing in Spain to maintain their Romanian citizenship while acquiring Spanish citizenship. a privilege that was previously limited to Ibero-American countries and countries neighboring Spain, such as Portugal, Andorra and France. The agreement does not have a specific date of entry into force. Today, more than half a million Romanians live in Spain, specifically, 627,478 in 2022, according to the latest figures available from the National Institute of Statistics, a figure that fell in the last year from the historical highs recorded in 2021 when the population of Romanian origin living in Spain reached almost 900,000 citizens. Furthermore, as reported by Marcel Ciolacu, in his conversation with the President of the Government, they talked about the representation of Romania at the European level, since Sánchez is the negotiator of the social democratic family at the community level. Specifically, he reminded his Spanish colleague of Bucharest's efforts at the European level so that one of the police stations of the next European Commission falls into Romanian hands. On the other hand, the two heads of government addressed the security crisis that Eastern Europe is experiencing due to Russia's war in Ukraine since February 2022. And in this sense, as reported by Moncloa, Sánchez reiterated Spain's commitment to defense of NATO's eastern flank, as demonstrated by the deployment of Spanish troops in Romania. From the Presidency of the Government it was added that Sánchez and Ciolacu reviewed the different topics on the common agenda and the priorities for the next cycle of the European Union. Likewise, it was indicated that both shared their commitment to the ecological transition and the consolidation of the social pillar, and agreed that "the EU must have a green and social imprint during this next cycle." They also highlighted the "good state of bilateral relations" as highlighted at the I Hispanic-Romanian Summit that was held in Castellón in 2022, and which "has allowed us to deepen and energize the relationship. Likewise, they have opted to continue strengthening the strategic partnership between both countries”, According to Moncloa, the two leaders agreed that Spain and Romania "are two of the Member States that are growing and progressing the most at this time," and stressed that "both countries are united by their commitment to the well-being of workers, the defense of "Ukraine and a reindustrialization of the EU that benefits everyone." The President of the Government, for his part, highlighted "the growing interest that exists among Spanish companies in the Romanian economy in sectors such as renewable energy, infrastructure, housing and construction."
