Brussels, 20/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - The EU/Romania Association Council, which met on Monday evening under the chairmanship of Anna Lindh (and in the presence of Romanian Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana and European Commissioner Günter Verheugen), made a pressing appeal to the new Romanian Government to implement, without further delay, the economic, social and political reforms announced over recent months. The only way to make up for the fact that Romania has lagged behind the other candidate countries is to focus all efforts on achieving these reforms, it was stressed on the Community side. Priority measures should be taken to promote the privatisation of public companies in deficit, strengthen the macro-economic stabilisation of the country, improve the investment climate and reform the banking sector, said the joint communiqué adopted by the Association Council. Enlargement Commissioner Mr Verheugen told the press that "we agree perfectly on the fact that Romania must now focus on economic, political and social reforms". The new government under Prime Minister Nastase has the "opportunity, but also the responsibility" to implement these reforms and to make a "fresh start", he said. "I am convinced that the government is really committed to drawing lessons from the past and to reforming the structures. But it is not the words which count, but the deeds", he added. Romanian Foreign Minister Mr Geoana told the press: "We shall continue to move forward, but in a more pragmatic and more disciplined way" than before.
Regarding the political criteria for membership, the Association Council noted "with satisfaction" that Romania's democratic institutions were "well established" and that improvements had been made to the workings of the legal apparatus. Additional efforts will, however, need making to render the decision-making process more transparent and to speed-up the demilitarisation of the police force. The protection of minorities, especially the Rom, continues to be a subject of concern, even though considerable progress has been made lately. As for taking on board the acquis communautaire, the Association Council referred to progress in several fields, especially transport, company law, competition and some aspects linked to the internal market. The country has not, however, made sufficient progress in aligning its legislation on agriculture, the environment, social and industrial policy, energy or financial control.
The Association Council also discussed the situation in Macedonia (Romania currently chairs the OSCE). The international community must provide its support to the Skopje Government", said Mr. Geoana, for whom, in order to contribute to resolving the political problem, which lies at the root of the conflict, the international community should offer the parties a package of measures taking account of both the "legitimate" interests of the Macedonian Government and the "legitimate" interests of the Albanians living in Macedonia. In this context, the OSCE could play a special role, given that it unites the main world powers, including the United States and Russia, said Mr. Geoana.