Basescu Makes his Point Clear in Front of Chirac

President Traian Basescu warns France not to admonish Romania due to its relations with Great Britain and the USA, when trying to get ready for signing the treaty of adherence to the EU.

OFFENSIVE. President Basescu tells France that Romania is a country with self respect.

Traian Basescu is upset. And this time the cause is not the Romanian politicians and journalists, but an entire state, an old supporter of Romania, which criticizes his politics and patronizes Romania because of a wish of creating a Washington-London-Bucharest axis and of tightening the relationships between the two states. In an interview in yesterday’s Financial Times, Basescu asks France not to patronize Romania anymore, especially now before the signing of the adherence treaty.

INSULTS

The anger is old. The President cannot forget the statements in 2003 of his French counterpart, when he asked the EU candidates to "shut up" in the Iraq issue. Jacques Chirac insulted the state candidates, says Basescu, who doesn’t forget the French Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, either who recently increased the insult when he stated the Romanian President "has no European reflexes". "Romania is a country with self-respect. France is one of our main supporters, but we don’t like this kind of statements", Traian Basescu emphasized.

THE APPLE OF DISCORD

Traian Basescu explained the Financial Times reporter that he wants a special relation with London and Washington for the improvement in the security of the Black Sea region and appeared as a supporter of the British liberal economical strategies. According to the journalist, Basescu’s attitude irritated France, Romania’s main supporter in the EU, and could exacerbate the French fears regarding the loss of the influence on the Union, which is currently extending. In some interviews for several journalists in Brussells, more members of the centre-right members of the Government in Bucharest stated they considered Romania inside the block which Donald Rumsfeld, the American Defense Secretary, called the "new Europe", supporter of the transatlantic relations and of the free commerce.

"We have traditionally collaborated with London and Washington", Basescu stated, reminding the latest example of this cooperation, the troops sent to Iraq. Asked about the economical pattern he would use, the Romanian President declared himself in favour of a "more liberal", in which the state would have "a minimal involvement in the economy".

TARICEANU, CONCERNED

On the other hand, in another interview, Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu admitted he was concerned about the possible rejection of the European Constitution by France, which would lead to a European crisis. However, he seemed convinced that Romania would join the EU in 2007 and would fulfill the reforms asked by Brussels before this date. "It would be an enormous disappointment for the external politics to involve in the process of Romania’s and Bulgaria’s adherence", he stated.

THE POOREST

Financial Times notes that our country is the poorest candidate adhering to the EU, with a GDP per person little above 30% of the EU average. Some of the EU members will impose some restrictions to stop the Romanian citizens to look for jobs in the West. Romania’s adherence to the EU will find Europe confronting with a series of problems, from the instability of the Black Sea region, on the Eastern frontier, to the necessity of some important money transfers for the Romanian farmers and for other sectors. However, for most of the Romanians, the perspective of the adherence to the EU is good news; according to a recent poll, 85% of the responders support the idea of the European integration, comments the reputed newspaper.

SMOLDERING CONFLICT

In three-month time, Basescu exhausted London, Washington, Berlin, and Moscow. He went to Chisinau. Iuscenko welcomes him, after he was present to his naming. There is only one important element missing from this: France. Traian Basescu admitted he had a one-hour long meeting with Jacques Chirac in Brussels. There they discussed about all the set topics so this summer’s official visit will be postponed due to the Prime Minister Jean Pierre Raffarin’s unavailability. This is the same Raffarin that, a few months ago, Basescu was accusing of coming to Bucharest to take his "share", the contribution from the contract which the Nastase Government dealt with French concern Vinci.