The two chambers of the Romanian Parliament, namely the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, met in a solemn joint sitting on Tuesday, March 27, to mark 100 years since the union of Bessarabia with Romania. Several MPs talked about the union with the Republic of Moldova during this meeting, including Chamber of Deputies president Liviu Dragnea, who is also the leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), and Senate president Calin Popescu Tariceanu.

Liviu Dragnea said he wants Romania to unite with the republic of Moldova, according to local Mediafax. “I want us to be together in Europe, but as a single nation,” he added.

He also read a statement of the Parliament in Bucharest, which was adopted during the same joint meeting, and which says that Romania and its citizens are and will always be ready to meet any organic reunification event coming from Moldovan citizens.

“The Romanian Parliament constituted in a solemn session at the 100th anniversary of the Union of Bessarabia with the Motherland today, March 27, 2018, considers that the desire of those citizens of the Republic of Moldova who support the unification of the two countries as a natural continuation in the process of development and affirmation of the Romanian nation is fully legitimate, and we underline that this act depends on their will, and declares that Romania and its citizens are and will always be prepared to meet any organic reunification manifestation of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova as an expression of their sovereign will,” reads the statement adopted by the Romanian Parliament.

Meanwhile, Senate president Calin Popescu Tariceanu said that, after the example of 1918, only the wish of the Parliaments of Bucharest and Chisinau "will be able to rebuild what the Country Counsel has done a century ago.”

“So I hope that we will find the courage, here in Bucharest, as well as in Chisinau, to make such a decision. Only the lack of confidence in our own capacity to build together a democratic, free and indivisible nation can prevent us from putting our signatures on an Act of Union,” Tariceanu said, according to Mediafax.

Prime minister Viorica Dancila was also present at the Parliament’s meeting, where she said that the government she leads is firmly committed to bring closer the moment when Romania and Moldova will have a common future in the EU.

The Custodian of the Crown, HRH Princess Margareta, was also present at the Parliament’s solemn meeting, and so did the president of the Moldovan Parliament, Adrian Candu. President Klaus Iohannis didn’t attend the Parliament’s meeting, however, posting a message on his Facebook page instead.

“Today we celebrate 100 years since the Declaration of Union of Bessarabia with the Kingdom of Romania, a political and patriotic gesture that honors the elite of the time and all those who dreamed it and worked for its realization. It is one of those moments that forever defines history, warms souls, and keeps consciousness awake, generation after generation,” reads the president’s message.

“At present, our course of convergence is called the European path of the Republic of Moldova. For the success of this objective, Romania provides consistent, permanent, diplomatic, financial and technical support and has the duty to remain an example of a nation engaged in the European project, a model of a competitive economy, a society that knows how to cherish and exploit its human potential.”

The history of the union of Bessarabia with the Romanian Kingdom began on April 9, 1918 (March 27 in old style), and ended on June 28, 1940, when Russia annexed Bessarabia again, following the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. Bessarabia is now part of the Republic of Moldova.

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

(photo source: Parlamentul Romaniei Camera Deputatilor Pagina Oficiala on Facebook)