European Commission (EC) president Jean-Claude Juncker called for a consensus in Romania during his joint press conference with Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Friday, January 11. He also said that the internal conflicts shouldn't be exported to Europe.

The two met on Friday morning, as part of Juncker’s agenda for the visit in Romania. The EC president and other EU leaders came to Bucharest on Thursday, January 10, to attend the ceremony marking the start of the Romanian EU Council presidency.

“It would be good to have an atmosphere of consensus in this country, your country, that would allow everyone, including Europe to move forward. We shouldn't export internal conflicts to Europe and engage in a polemic without a purpose or an end,” Juncker said after the meeting with Klaus Iohannis at the Cotroceni Palace, local Hotnews.ro reported.

In his turn, the Romanian president said that the internal political issues should not affect the progress of the Romanian EU Council presidency.

“[…] I believe all parties understood this,” Iohannis added.

The European official also said he believes the Romanian presidency of the EU Council would make a significant contribution to demonstrating that those who say that there are two blocks in Europe – the East and the West – are wrong, adding that "Europe is breathing with these two lungs.”

Asked about amnesty and pardon, amid the ruling party’s plan to issue an emergency ordinance on amnesty, the EC president said: “I wanted to recall the European rules. It is absolutely necessary to respect the rule of law. I’ve said that Europe is also made up of compromises, but there must be no compromise on the essential issues, because these key issues would be adversely affected if an amnesty would be granted as expected by some people in your country. Its enforcement would be a step back.”

Iohannis also said that the rule of law is not negotiable, and that “we can’t build in Romania a justice system that is not compatible with other justice systems in Europe.”

The two officials touched many topics during their meeting, including Brexit, the multiannual budget for the next period, migration, and the European security, the Romanian president said, adding that talks on the future of Europe will continue at the EU Summit in Sibiu this May.

The agenda of EC president Juncker also includes meetings with Romanian Parliament and Government officials today.

EU leaders hold uplifting speeches in Bucharest as Romania takes over EU presidency

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Presidency.ro)