National security, energy solutions or corruption, approached by Joe Biden during his visit in Romania

Joe Biden’s two-day visit in Romania ended after meetings with President Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Victor Ponta. The Vice President of the United States discussed with the Romanian leadership on energy security in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, on American investments in our country and trade commerce, also reinforcing their support as partners in the NATO alliance.

“I reiterated to the Prime Minister what he already knew that - America’s unwavering commitment to collective self-defense and Article 5.  We expect all nations to honor their NATO commitments.  We will honor ours.  And there should be no doubt about that on anyone’s mind”, Joe Biden said at the joint press statement following the meeting with Victor Ponta, reconfirming what he had previously asserted at the end of the meeting with Traian Basescu:  “We will honor - we will honor Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. It is a sacred obligation. There should be no doubt about it. It should not be in question. No NATO ally stands alone. We protect one another. Period! We protect one another. Period! End of discussion”.

He also announced stronger sanctions in case Russia undermines the elections in Ukraine on Sunday, saying that NATO must remain resolute in imposing greater cost on Russia, at the same time reinvesting in the alliance.

Given the political and economical situation in the region, in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, Joe Biden highlighted the importance of energy security and national security, these two coming together in the need to ensure that Russia can no longer continue to take advantage of its position in terms of energy resources which uses, corroborated by the European dependence on these resources, as a weapon against states in the region.

“That is why I believe that the development of a secure, diverse and interconnected energy market in Europe is the next big step for our European colleagues to initiate in a great project of European economic integration”, he commented after the meeting with the Prime Minister, while placing Romania as a significant part of a European energy solution: “By upgrading Romania’s infrastructure, Romania can be a lynchpin that holds together the energy markets from the Black Sea to Central and Eastern Europe.  And by expanding domestic production of natural gas, Romania can emerge as an alternative supplier for its neighbors. And by extending the Romanian pipeline network, Romania can be part of the energy solution for Moldova, a country that is now overwhelmingly almost 100 percent reliant on Russian energy”.

The US official further emphasized the close connection between economic growth and overall development and a strong rule of order, a decisive factor for companies when looking for investment destinations. Hence, Joe Biden mentioned that attracting jobs and investments so as to enhance economic growth should be a major focus for Romania, which, at the same time should continue with the process of strengthen the rule of order, a prerequisite for the country’s development.

“It’s important for your economy. It’s important for your democracy.  And it’s important for your freedom.  And above all, it’s important for the lives of citizens who deserve to know their voices will be heard in government, that their businesses can compete fairly without bribes, that their disputes will be adjudicated transparently by a court system that is trusted, and that no Romanian - any more than any American - is above the law”, he concluded, during the joint statement with President Basescu.