#DiplomaticCentennial / Romania's ambassador to Switzerland Vasiliu: Romanian-Swiss political dialogue has enhanced over last year

Relations between Romania and Switzerland are showing a positive dynamic and the bilateral political dialogue has intensified over the last year, with the trade between the two countries expanding in the first four months of 2018 and the bilateral trade balance favouring Romania for the first time since 1990, Romania's ambassador to Switerland Vlad Vasiliu told AGERPRES in a recent interview.

The Romanian diplomat notes that the development of bilateral political relations between Bucharest and Berne is also revealed by the fact that both the president and the finance minister of Switzerland will visit Romania by the end of 2018.

Regarding the economic areas of interest to Switzerland, Vasiliu points out that increasingly more signals have been received from the Swiss business environment regarding their interest in making investment in Romania, as increasingly more Swiss companies consider relocating some production facilities or expanding business in Romania. At the same time, there is potential for the development of co-operation in the field of IT and in the innovative sector, as demonstrated by the constant participation over the last years of Romanian inventors at the International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva.

Vasiliu also points out that, for the most part, the Romanians in Switzerland are well integrated with the Swiss society, regardless of the linguistic area in which they have settled, and their level of professional training above average makes them an active part of the Swiss intellectual elite.

On the other hand, the Romanian diplomat discusses a problem that has significantly impacted Europe in recent years - the influx of migrants. In this respect, he notes that in 2017 the number of asylum applications in Switzerland decreased to about half the previous year, with the main countries of origin for asylum seekers remaining Eritrea, Afghanistan and Syria. However, in relation to the population, the asylum seeking rate in Switzerland continued in 2017 to be well above the European average, which was 1.4 application per 1000 inhabitants (2.5 in 2016), versus 2.2 per 1000 inhabitants (3.4 in 2016), a situation that has led the Berne Executive to adopt a number of complex administrative and legislative measures.

The e-mail interview is part of the editorial project #DiplomaticCentennial conducted by AGERPRES throughout the year, with an emphasis on diplomatic relations in the context of the 100th anniversary of the Greater Union.

AGERPRES: How would you describe the current situation of the Romanian-Swiss relations, almost one and a half years after you took up your ambassadorship to Switzerland?

Vlad Vasiliu: I would say that the bilateral relations between Romania and Switzerland are witnessing a positive dynamic and I really want to note the intensification, over the last year, of the bilateral political dialogue. I would mention to the point the visits that have already taken place - a visit to Bucharest by the head of the Swiss diplomacy, Mr. Ignazio Cassis (September 10, 2018), an official visit to Switzerland by Mr Liviu Dragnea, speaker of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies (May 29 - 31, 2018), a working visit to Switzerland by a delegation of the Romania-Switzerland Friendship Parliamentary Group, led by MP Dragos-Petrut Barladeanu (November 26-29, 2017), as well as meetings scheduled by the end of this year, namely visits to Romania President of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset, and Minister of Finance Ueli Maurer, as well as that of the Secretary of State for Economics Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch.

AGERPRES: How did trade between Romania and Switzerland develop in 2017 and what are your estimates for the current year? What are the main economic areas of interest to the Swiss side?

Vlad Vasiliu: In 2017, compared with 2016, the volume of bilateral trade increased by 12.75 percent to 857.8 million euros, of which Romanian exports were worth 400.8 million euros and imports from Switzerland were worth 457 million euros. At the same time, we notice an increase in Romanian exports by 14.55 percent. I want to mention that in the first four months of 2018, for the first time since 1990, the bilateral trade balance is favouring Romania 26.8 million euros (Romanian exports worth 149.9 million euros against imports from Switzerland worth 123.1 million euros), whereas in the post-December 1989 Revolution Romania has consistently recorded a negative balance with Switzerland, which economy has been traditionally steered toward exports of high-tech products with high added value. If this trend persists throughout the current year, we will see an increase in Romanian exports by about 10 percent over the previous year and why not, for the first time after 1990, a positive trade balance with Switzerland. Regarding the second question, I am pleased to tell you that lately, increasingly more signals have been received from the Swiss economic community about their interest in investing in Romania, with increasingly more Swiss companies considering relocating some of their production facilities to Romania or expanding their business in Romania. This is also due to the opportunities offered by the always expanding and diversifying legal framework of the European Union with various countries and regional organisations, and the intensification of protectionist policies. We can anticipate new relocations to Romania similar to the investment model the Alu Merziken Group has followed in Satu Mare with its production of aluminium profiles, complex extruded products and components for the aerospace and automotive industries.

Other examples of interest concern the production of biofuels, such as Clariant's investment worth about 100 million Swiss francs (CHF) in a bioethanol factory in Craiova, the acquisition by SAG of the Romanian Autonet group of companies and the development of a business centre near Timisoara airport by the Artemis/Franke group. Recently, SIKA has begun the process of obtaining the necessary approvals for the construction of a third plant in Chitila, Romania. The listed Swiss investments will add to those already conducted by Novartis, Holcim, Nestle, Ameropa and others.

There are opportunities to develop cooperation in the IT field as well, as the visit by the ARIES association delegation to Switzerland on October 11-12, 2017, or the participation of 12 companies in the Romanian IT sector at the Geneva eCom Exhibition April 24-25, 2018 attest to. At the same time, there is potential for co-operation in the innovative sector, demonstrated by the constant participation of Romanian inventors over the last years of the International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva (this year held on April 11-15). Last but not least, I want to mention the investment project of the Romanian company Tudor Tech SA in Saint Imier, in a facility for the production of large-scale aircraft scanners.

AGERPRES: Romania was for the first time a partner country and guest of honour at the FESPO Zurich International Tourism Fair, the largest public tourist show in Switzerland, held January 25-28, 2018. What specifically did this event mean to Romania, in particular for promoting Romania's tourism sector?

Vlad Vasiliu: The presence at FESPO was, of course, an event with an important visibility in Switzerland of Romanian tourism and of Romania in general, right at the beginning of 2018, the year of the Centennial of Romania's Greater Union. This participation was widely covered by the local press, especially the specialist press. About 20 stories were published that made a presentation of the tourist destination Romania and reflected the potential and attractiveness of the Romanian tourist products. I want to mention that the Romanian participation was also praised by Swiss officials. I would quote to the point a statement by FESPO director Stephan Amstad: "This year's partner country, Romania, was particularly praised among the visitors. Few of them knew how much Romania could offer, but through Romania's presence at the fair we have changed things." Mrs Monica Radu, as representative of tourism for people with disabilities - the theme of FESPO 2018 - and founder of several associations for people with disabilities, presented the Romanian concerns and efforts in developing tourism accessible to people with disabilities. Certainly, at the national stand, several Romanian companies presented their offerings of tourist services and concluded provisional agreements for 2018 with Swiss partners. Now, a few months after FESPO, I am pleased to note that the "fruits" of this participation. Relevant Swiss tour operators have already sold out travel packages to Romania for the current year. Last but not least, the Romanian delegation at the trade fair headed by Mr. Bogdan Tomoiaga, a senior official with the Romanian Ministry of Tourism, had a series of meetings with officials from Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as the leading tour operators from Switzerland, and now the Ministry of Tourism is working on expanding co-operation with them.

AGERPRES: Please make a short presentation of the current status of Romanian citizens living in Switzerland. How does the embassy cooperate with the Romanian associations in this country?

Vlad Vasiliu: According to data provided by the State Secretariat for Migration (SSM), as many as 18,702 Romanian citizens were recorded in Switzerland, in end-May 2018, 15,858 of whom enjoyed a permanent residence status and 2,844 a non-permanent residence, most of them being located, due to economic reasons mainly, in the Zurich, Vaud, Bern and Geneva cantons. To this we should add 9,000 Romanians who have lived in the Confederation for a longer time and they already hold Swiss citizenship, which means that they are recorded as Swiss citizens.

A large part of the Romanian migrants in Switzerland came here in the early 1970s and are high-skilled people, who emigrated because of political reasons and who managed to integrate very well, both professionally and from a social viewpoint with the Swiss society. After June 1, 2009, when the Agreement on free movement of persons between the EU and Switzerland included for the first time Romania and Bulgaria, the number of Romanians who settled in Switzerland significantly increased. It must be said that the largest part of the Romanians in Switzerland are well integrated with the Swiss society, regardless of the linguistic area they settled in, and that their professional level, above the average, made it so that they became active part of the Swiss intellectual elite.

I would also like to mention the fact that, in preserving and promoting the Romanian language and culture, a part of the Romanians settled in Switzerland created nine Romanian or Romanian-Swiss associations that represent an important catalyst for cultural-academic and social exchanges between Romania and Switzerland. Moreover, there are 18 Romanian parishes in Switzerland, most of them Orthodox. We can say that the churches, as institutions, regardless of their canonical subordination, have an important contribution to the preservation of the national identity and strengthening of the national feeling of Romanians abroad. The Greater Union Centennial offers us the possibility of further strengthening collaboration with the Romanian associations in Switzerland and we believe that this moment could become a real factor of coagulation, contributing to a closer collaboration between associations, in achieving ample and impactful cultural projects.

AGERPRES: Europe has become, in the past years, the destination of a massive wave of immigrants, very many of them being illegally here, coming from areas of conflict in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Asia. In its capacity as a Schengen member, was Switzerland affected by this phenomenon, which still continues, although not to the same extend as in 2015 and 2016?

Vlad Vasiliu: Of course that, due to its geographical position and high living standards, Switzerland is seen as a possible destination for an important number of immigrants. According to data published by the State Secretariat for Migration, compared with the year 2015, when Switzerland registered 39,523 requests for asylum (by 40 per cent more against 2014), in 2016 the number was 27,207 and in 2017 18,088. The main countries of origin of those who request asylum in Switzerland were and still are Eritrea, Afghanistan and Syria. This development and the significant drop in the number of immigrants is mainly due to the borders having been partially closed, in March 2016, on the "Balkan route," but also due to the clear limitation, in mid-July 2017, of the migration through the central Mediterranean Sea. Moreover, we must also consider the fact that most immigrants wanted to reach to Germany, France or the Scandinavian countries and thus they intentionally avoided the Swiss Confederation or tries to "pass unnoticed."

Considering all the requests for asylum recorded in Europe, the weight of those recorded in Switzerland reached up to 2.5 per cent in 2017. This percentage represents the second lowest ratio recorded in Switzerland after 1990, which can be explained through the fact that most immigrants stopped by the Swiss border police did not apply for asylum in this country. However, while considering these figures against the population, the applications for receiving asylum in Switzerland remained in 2017 much above the European average, of 1.4 requests per 1000 inhabitants (2.5 in 2016), being of 2.2 per 1000 inhabitants (3.4 respectively in 2016). It was this reality precisely that determined the Executive in Bern to take numerous complex administrative and legislative measures such as: reforming the procedures for granting asylum (accelerating the process of processing and assessing the requests: 140 days at the most for any asylum applicant), setting up federal centres (for better costs and also for a simplified administrative and decision-making process), as well participating in various initiatives and international political endeavors: participation, as a member in the works of the Group of contact for the central Mediterranean Sea; conclusion of partnerships for migration; strengthening collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Migration Organisation (OIM) and the International Red Cross Committee.

Not last, the Federal Executive created the office of special government delegate for migration affairs in the Middle East. The main mission of the Federal Council's delegate had to do with the strengthening of making operational Switzerland's migration policy, with an emphasis on the repatriation and socio-professional integration of the immigrants. In geographic terms, the delegate's activities shall focus first of all on the developments and cooperation with Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey. The federal delegate will also get involved in the fight against illegal migration and human trafficking.

AGERPRES: Starting with 2007, as part of its contribution to the expansion of the European Union, Switzerland supported financially - with an annual amount of 1.2 billion euros - a great number of projects were meant for reducing the economic and social gaps in the Central and Eastern Europe countries that became members of the Union in 2004, 2007 (Romania and Bulgaria) and 2014. How did this financial aid contribute to Romania's integration with the European structures?

Vlad Vasiliu: Allow me to start by making a series of clarifications related to the context. The Romanian-Swiss cooperation programme was implemented based on the Framework Agreement signed between the Romanian Government and the Swiss Federal Council regarding the implementation of the Romanian-Swiss cooperation programme meant for reducing economic and social gaps in the enlarged European Union. The amount granted to Romania, as the first tranche from the Swiss contribution was worth 181 million CHF. The funds were available to be engaged until December 6, 2014, with payments to be made by end-2019. The percentage of engaged Swiss funds was 100 per cent, with the actual absorption rate to probably exceed the level of 85 per cent in end-2019, according to current estimates.

The first Swiss contribution to the EU cohesion fund represented an important experience for Romania and also a real added value. The fields and projects were selected based on their relevance for the development of Romania and were meant for: promoting economic growth and supporting the business environment, improving labour conditions, promoting sustainable management of energy, improving public safety and security, education, research and supporting the civil society. From this viewpoint, the Bern Executive's announcement that it will participate and contribute in the future too to the efforts or reducing gaps in the enlarged EU is a proof of the relevance and contribution of the projects carried out as part of Romania's European integration process.

The value of the future Swiss financial contribution (2019-2029) for Romania, as proposed by the federal Executive, which is pending approval from the federal legislative, and it will be worth 226.10 million CHF, which means an increase by approx. 25 per cent compared with the first financial aid. Is is speculated that during its autumn session the Bern Parliament will launch the debates on this issue, in its first legislative chamber, and in the spring session of 2019 in the second chamber. I also hope during the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU in 2019 we will be able to sign the bilateral agreement with Switzerland for a new tranche.

I believe that all projects carried out with the Swiss partners targeted important social and economic fields for Romania and their objectives were mainly to increase economic competitiveness, modernize administrative structures and increase the social and economic inclusion of the Romanian society. Of course that there are many interesting projects that would deserve to be enumerated here, but I would like to mention first those in the research and development field, financing from the research fund. This fund financed 26 joint projects submitted by Romanian researchers in collaboration with the Swiss ones. The total value of the approved projects exceeded 10.4 million CHF, with activities covering the following fields: healthcare, environment, energy and economy. Research and innovation are fields of interest for Romania and this is why we appreciate the JOBS and SCIEX projects as being both successful.

Moreover, it is also worth mentioned the Romanian-Swiss programme for SMEs (total financial aids of more than 18 million CHF, carried out through CEC - Romanian Savings Bank), which has to do with granting investment loans to SMEs in Romania in four priority fields: production, medical services, tourism, commercialization of specific equipment for saving energy and using renewable energy, in order to streamline own activity.

AGERPRES: In mid-January, the federal government gave green light to collecting signatures to publicly support the Swiss right wing's initiative to limit migration from the European Union. If the initiative collects at least 10,000 by July 2019, then it will follow the Swiss direct democracy system procedure, which will end the free movement of citizens in the EU, currently guaranteed under bilateral agreements. How probable is that this scenario will happen in the present, which could lead to the cancellation of the agreement governing the relations between the EU and Switzerland?

Vlad Vasiliu: The initiators have 18 months to collect the signatures (by 19.07.2019) and, definitely, the necessary number of signatures, 10,000 respectively, will be reached without any problems. Of course that this process and campaign to raise signatures will be used by the Swiss People's Part (SVP), which started this initiative, especially in the electoral campaign, in September 2019, when there are federal parliamentary elections in Switzerland.

What we must say, however, is that the Swiss political and legislative system is a complex one, with extended and complementary responsibilities for the Executive, but also for the Legislative, in adopting a popular initiative and in elaborating a constitutional amendment in this field (including its implementation laws). And we also mention that, in the end, the vote must achieve a double simple majority: the national and cantonal one.

I would also like to say that, according to the most recent opinion poll (April 2018), this initiative of the SVP does not benefit from the support of the majority of the population, with 75 per cent of the interviewed saying they were in favour of maintaining (46 per cent) and even extending (29 per cent) the current "bilateral way" that governs the relations between the EU and Switzerland. Of course, this opinion was determined by the lower pressure exercised by the migration phenomenon on Switzerland, as well as by the entire Brexit process, while the future economic-social developments will also have their impact. Considering the geographic position of Switzerland, the economic relevance and overall complexity of the EU-Switzerland bilateral relation, it is hard to say that such bilateral agreements could come to be eliminated.

AGERPRES: This is the year of the Greater Union Centennial; which are the events organised by the embassy in marking this event?

Vlad Vasiliu: All the important events organised by the embassy in promoting the national values are part this year of the celebrations of the Greater Union Centennial. The festivities cycle started on January 13, 2018 in Vevey, where, on the National Culture Day, we organised a ceremony to honour three personalities of the Romanian culture, whose names are related to this city: Mihai Eminescu, Clara Haskil and Anna de Noailles (Brancoveanu). Next we had, in January, the presentation in Fribourg, on January 21, of a documentary pictures exhibition "Towards the Greater Union: The United Principalities and Alexandru Ioan Cuza," made by the National Archives of Romania and dedicated to the Romanian Principalities Union Day, and also Romania's participation with a national pavilion in the FESPO 2018 exhibition (January 25-28, Zurich).

On May 31, 2018, the Romanian Embassy in Bern, in collaboration with the Association of Saxons in Transylvania and the History Seminar of the University of Zurich organised the exhibition "German minority in Romania - History and present times in an united Europe," which presents the German minority's contribution to the development of the Romanian society in the past 100 years, with an emphasis on the past 25 years.

Not last, I want to bring to mind the "IA AIDOMA" exhibition organised in collaboration with the Madeleine Moret Foundation and the Semne Cusute Association, with the support of the Romanian Cultural Centre in Neuchatel and the Honorary General Consular Office of Romania in Zurich. The exhibition, dedicated to this fundamental element of the Romanian traditional costume - ia (the Romanian blouse), was presented at the "Maison de la Femme" in Lausanne over June 15 - July 6, 2018. AGERPRES (RO - author: Tudor Martalogu, editor: Mariana Ionescu; EN - authors: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, Cristina Zaharia, editor: Adina Panaitescu)