President Iohannis: Agreement on Brexit, negotiated, most efficient mechanism; limits negative consequences for EU citizens

President Klaus Iohannis on Friday welcomed at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace the Foreign Affairs Secretary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Jeremy Hunt, in which context he showed that a UK withdrawal without an agreement with the European Union will have significant negative consequences both on this country and the EU member states, reads a press release of the Presidential Administration.

Thus, in the context of the decisions made by the British Parliament on January 29, the head of the state showed that the agreement negotiated by the EU27 and the UK is the most efficient mechanism that will ensure an orderly withdrawal, limiting the negative consequences generated by Brexit and guaranteeing the rights of the EU citizens who live, work or study in the UK.

"The agreement negotiated by the EU27 and the UK is the most efficient mechanism for ensuring an orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Northern Ireland from the European Union, limiting the negative consequences generated by Brexit and guaranteeing the rights of the EU citizens who live, work or study in the UK," said the head of the state, according to the abovementioned release.

In respect to the bilateral relations, the two interlocutors highlighted the very good political dialogue existing between the two countries under the Strategic Partnership concluded in 2003 and revised in 2011, which evolved positively over the years, mainly in the security and defence fields.

President Klaus Iohannis underscored that the bilateral relation must not be negatively influenced by the Brexit process.

"The Romanian President voiced his being in favour of strengthening the bilateral Strategic Partnership, as strengthening cooperation in foreign affairs, security, including within NATO and on the Eastern Flank of the Alliance is necessary. President Klaus Iohannis reiterated Romania's strong support and that of his own for NATO and the transatlantic relation, highlighting at the same time the importance of a fair burden sharing in respect to the defence expenditures. This approach was also shared by the British Foreign Secretary, who underscored that both states earmark 2 per cent of their respective GDPs for defence and firmly support NATO and the transatlantic relation," says the same source.

Moreover the head of the state mentioned Romania's support for strengthening the EU-NATO partnership, including in the context in which Romania is holding the Presidency at the Council of the European Union, while pleading for avoiding "duplicates and promoting complementarity, so that a true synergy of the two organisations' efforts be reached."

President Klaus Iohannis highlighted the role of the Romanian community in the UK and the strengthening of the bilateral relation and the importance Romania grants to the protection of the rights of its citizens in the UK, in the Brexit context. He emphasized the high level of integration of the Romanian community with the British society, as well as the added value this community brings to the host country.

The head of the state reiterated that the protection of the rights of the Romanian citizens was and remains the main priority of Romania during the negotiations between the EU and the UK.

Iohannis mentioned that, in the period ahead, the citizens, both the European citizens in the UK and the British citizens in the EU27, must remain a priority, so that, regardless of the scenario that will prevail as negotiations unfold, the negative effects with an impact on their lives be as reduced as possible.

According to the Presidential Administration, the British Foreign Secretary voiced his country's special appreciation for President Klaus Iohannis's efforts in maintaining and strengthening the rule of law in Romania. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Cristina Zaharia, editor: Adina Panaitescu)