Mihai-Răzvan Ungureanu

Question: How do you feel ahead of the European commission’s final progress report on September 26?

Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu: I can say that our expectations are high. Apart from the date of accession, we hope that the report will consider the progress we have made in the past couple of months. Last time we succeeded in putting two of the four red flags out.But I would say that we never compare ourselves with Bulgaria. Accession is very much based on our own progress.

Question: Did any member states tell you they would be putting up immigration restrictions at last week foreign affairs meeting?

Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu: No, not specifically. We know most countries are considering it. Opening the labour market is very much a question of bilateral agreements.

For Romania, the bad news is that the domestic labour force has been drained off for some time. We now suffer from a shortage in some fields of economic activity, such as construction. The good news is that a lot of Romanians are starting to come back home because wages are going back up.

Question: What do you say to those member states planning to block Romanian workers?

Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu: I would say that blocking workers is a fruitless exercise. Romanian workers will not create any problems in EU member states. On the contrary I would say that we will slip in unobserved.

Question: Did you discuss CIA flights with EU foreign ministers on Friday?

Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu: It was only raised during a morning with the Nordic Dimension countries. I think that there may have been worries that CIA allegations could damage our reputation if we were found to have facilities of this kind or prisoners, but since we do not have any, why should we worry?

Question: Is it true that Romanian officials are investigating a new lead over secret CIA prisons?

Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu: Some new information on the CIA was leaked to a newspaper and the Romanian parliamentary committee began investigating it. What we expect is for the Romanian committee to work alongside the EU parliamentary committee when they come to Romania in mid-October. But I would stress that we are doing our homework on this issue and we are fully investigating it.

Question: Are Romania involved in international initiatives in the Middle East?

Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu: We are involved in the Iraq compact that was discussed with EU foreign ministers on Friday. We have volunteered for a position in the coordination committee of the international compact. We will be involved in this by the end of the year.
We are present in the Western Balkans and Kosovo although we do not participate in Unifil forces in Lebanon. We have provided one million euros towards the reconstruction of Lebanon.

Question: Is it frustrating to only observe decision making in council?

Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu: Romania’s status in council does not mean we are censored. We are listened to and our views are taken into consideration. The presidency takes a particular interest on our views on the Western Balkans and the Black Sea Region. These require a certain degree of expertise that cannot be delivered but by countries like Romania and Bulgaria.

Question: Do you feel your voice is heard by other EU member states?

Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu: Neither Romania nor Bulgaria has ever tried to disturb the decision making process. During the difficult negotiations on the financial perspectives at the end of the UK presidency, I said we wanted more money but I was not in a position to propose a veto. For me that is fair enough, we are getting into the EU. It was not for us to say give me more when we were still not members.

The majority of member states take our difference of opinion into consideration on certain issues. Indeed, our opinion may turn judgements around. I really do believe that we have been greeted like fully fledged members and I have never felt frustrated by our status. It has been great political practise for me, a very useful exercise.

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