Jean-Yves Le Drian on a visit to Romania (Feb. 2-3-2022)

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian is on a visit to Bucharest from February 2- 3.

There he will take part in a special session of the Romanian parliament held on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Romania’s accession to the European Union. He will have the opportunity to celebrate this anniversary, which constitutes a step forward for all Europeans, to evoke the strong bonds of friendship that unite France and Romania and to demonstrate the solidarity that exists between our two countries at a time of major security challenges.

The minister will be received by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and will meet with Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu. In these meetings, Jean-Yves le Drian will express France’s solidarity with its partners and allies in the context of current tensions. He will emphasize that a serious, rigorous dialogue with Russia could facilitate de-escalation, which is the focus of all our efforts.

In the context of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Jean-Yves Le Drian will discuss the work that is under way on the Strategic Compass of the European Union, which will serve as a veritable white paper for European defense, as well as cybersecurity topics. He will also talk about France and Romania’s joint involvement in the Sahel.

Lastly, tomorrow the minister will take part in a meeting of foreign ministers from Baltic, Central and Eastern European countries in the so-called “Bucharest 9” format (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia). This meeting will cover the current tensions among the European Union’s eastern neighbors and the different aspects of this crisis that have been discussed at the EU, NATO and OSCE.

The minister’s speech before the Romanian parliament will be livestreamed on the ministry’s French-language Twitter feed (@francediplo) starting at 4:30 p.m. CET: https://twitter.com/francediplo