Good evening,
Madam Presidential Advisor,
Mr. Secretary of State,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Distinguished guests,
I would have normally started this speech by saying that it is an honor to be with you to celebrate all Romanians living outside the country’s borders. It is indeed an honor for me to be here, and I thank you wholeheartedly for taking the time to come here today and listen to my speech.
Then, I reminisced about my brother, who soon after the Revolution, left for Germany like many other Romanians did, in search of a better life. And I feel now, as I felt then, that there was no celebration in our family. It was hard for all of us, and I think almost impossible for my mother, seeing a son leaving with her only granddaughter, and we were only going to see them in photos or hear them only on the phone. It was a celebration only when they returned home!
The truth is that for 30 years we have become accustomed to celebrating failure. We organize events, give speeches, take pictures, and then everyone minds their own life, us here and you beyond, in other countries.
The truth is that every definitive crossing of the border by a Romanian is a failure for this country, not a celebration. Every mother, brother, sister, or grandchild who’s leaving, leaves a huge void behind, both in the families that remain to suffer and in the communities to which they belong. Void by void by void they end up forming a huge abyss in the soul of this nation, and this cannot be a celebration at all!
I have no qualms about saying that this is the main failure of the Romanian political class after the Revolution. And, as a temporary exponent of this political class, but – first of all – as a human being, please allow me to apologize for not being able to do more and better. I apologize that we weren’t able to keep you in Romania!
Ladies and gentlemen,
I have perfectly understood your message. I am aware that many of you are determined to stay abroad for good. And that’s why, in all the meetings I’ve had with European leaders, for almost a year since I’ve been prime minister, I’ve tried to get something for the Romanians outside the borders.
I met with Pedro Sanchez, the Prime Minister of Spain, he will come to Bucharest in July to sign the agreement by which Romanians living in Spain will be able to have dual citizenship. It is a mark of respect that my friend Pedro Sanchez, after almost two years of building this, brings to the second-largest community in Spain. Only France and Portugal still have such agreements with Spain! And I’m glad that Romanians will have access to better-paying jobs, without having to give up their Romanian citizenship.
I met with the president of the Council of Ministers, Georgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, and I can tell you that the recognition of the Orthodox Church as a cult by the Italian state is on the last hundred meters. The legal name, and I am firmly convinced that everyone in Italy knows it, is Intesa.
I met with Olaf Scholz, the Chancellor of Germany, and I can tell you, among other things, that we worked very well together to protect and improve working conditions for Romanian workers, especially seasonal ones.
I met with Mrs. Maia Sandu, the President of the Republic of Moldova, and with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, and we managed to eliminate the aberrant and Soviet concept of the Moldovan language in these two countries. All Romanians in the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine today speak only one language, and that is Romanian. And I am very proud of this!
I met this week, with the president of Turkey, Mr. Erdogan, and we established that Romanians who want to travel to Turkey can do so only with an identity card, they no longer need a passport.
These are just a few examples of concrete things that have happened last year. But, certainly, the greatest achievement will be this year, when Romania will fully join the Schengen Area. You know very well the ordeal you have to endure, year after year, at the borders, when you go home for the holidays. I consider this a humiliation, and there is no reason for this, for Romanians not to receive what they deserve.
Last year we opened an irreversible process through air and sea accession. But this year justice must be done to the end, and Romania should join with the land borders as well. This is normal and I assure you, this evening, that this Government will achieve this!
Just as we will do justice regarding the issue of Romanians’ visa-free travel to the United States. I am convinced that all the discussions I had with the American officials and all the efforts made by the Romanian state, but above all, all the efforts made by the Romanians, will lead to the decision to eliminate visas.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Beyond the things we have to do for the diaspora, I think the Government must persuade Romanians not to leave in search of a better life abroad. It is painful when I see that the average age of the Romanian community – in Italy, Spain, or England – is 31 – 32 years old!
There are no magic formulas! The only way to keep our children in the country is to continue to raise wages, improve public services, and develop infrastructure. In short, let’s raise the living standards!
Thus, by the end of this year, Romanians will be able to travel on approximately half of the Moldavian Highway, the historical region from which most Romanians went to work abroad. And I give just one example.
I want to solve once and for all the issue of highways in Romania! And let each area of the country develop smoothly, attract investments, and create well-paid jobs, and the historical regions to be interconnected.
In parallel, for the first time since the Revolution, we have allocated huge amounts to education and health, billions of euros! And, also for the first time, medical and educational services are developed, like the infrastructure, uniformly, in all areas of the country! Because, only by ensuring conditions similar to those abroad, the Romanians will not leave! Only in this way, those who yearn to return will return to the families that await them!
And economically, we managed to change the perspective. We started producing more and better here at home. We have set the first milestones in the reindustrialization of Romania! Oțelul Roşu and UCM Reșita, two titans of the Romanian heavy industry, that I visited two days ago, will be revived! Also with the support of some Romanians! And, together with them, the areas from where many of you left will be revived!
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am fully aware that we have taken a few steps forward, but that there is still so much to do! But today’s Romania is fully changed compared to Romania 10 years ago!
It is true, that the integration into the European Union was the chance for this country to develop at an unprecedented level. Without Europe, without European funds, and without freedom of movement and work, Romania would have remained frozen in time and underdevelopment, and Romanians would have suffered.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Regardless of where you are, regardless of your plans to return home or not, one thing is certain: without Romanian traditions, Romanian values, and customs, we would not be able to talk about Romanians everywhere today. Thank you for your resilience!
I know it has not been easy for you, especially in the beginning, that often when you are alone, away from family, among strangers, God is the only support. Indeed, the Church, through its priests, through the extraordinary work they do, keeps the community together. I know that, apart from the family, Romanian children born abroad have the opportunity to hear the Romanian language only in Romanian churches. That is why I thank the Romanian Orthodox Church because, throughout time, it has been and will remain the link that keeps alive, anywhere in the world, our national identity, respect for our language, culture, and beliefs!
Happy anniversary, dear Romanians!
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