President Iohannis: Romanians convey clear pro-European message on 26 May elections

In the May 26 elections the Romanians sent a clear pro-European message and rejected the anti-European speech, President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday at the International Civil Society Forum. "We had the elections for the European Parliament and the referendum on justice, which I convened in Romania, if I can say so, and which I won together with the Romanians. The conclusion after the 26 May elections is a very simple one: the Romanians have firmly said that they want a European path for Romania, despite attempts to weaken citizens' trust in the European project. The Romanians have proved by vote that any change starts from aspiration and from the understanding of the way today's world operates. The Romanians have sent a clear pro-European message, decided that Romania's place is undoubtedly in the European Union among the states that support and believe in the European project and, in short, have demonstrated that they want to actively engage in defending the rule of law. It is a clear sign that the civic spirit has become even more present, which can only be for the benefit of the Romanian society and which demonstrate its regenerative force. (...) The citizens have rejected the anti-European speech," the president said. He believes that through the European Parliament elections the citizens of the European states have proved that they understand the dangers of the Europhobic, extremist, nationalist and populist movements. "It is a good time to continue to find solutions to defend democracy, the rule of law, European values, and I believe these things are possible through education. We have the duty to leave to the future generations a tradition of civic involvement at all levels of society. In this sense, education is the safest and handiest tool society has, "Iohannis said. "The results of May 26 vote have confirmed that things can change over time, for the better, but only with a wide-spread involvement from citizens. And I expect for citizens to further get involved! I urge them to have expectations from those they elected to represent them in the European Parliament, to watch them and to react immediately to any action that goes against the values and commitments they made," said Iohannis. "The results of these elections also compel the Government to stop ignoring or doubting the European Commission's recommendations under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism in the field of Justice and anti-corruption fight, those of the Venice Commission, of the relevant European and international institutions and bodies," said Iohannis. "The civil society has given strong signals in recent years that the attachment to authentic democratic values is fundamental, and the campaign for the European Parliament elections and the referendum has proven this evolution. I want to express my appreciation once again for the extremely important contribution civil society has made to these elections, and not only," said Iohannis. "I think it is absolutely necessary to rebuild the bonds of human solidarity, to find solutions to regain the meaning of citizenship, understood as an active and responsible commitment to the modernization of society. We therefore need solidarity, unity, involvement and decisions to give back to the generations to come confidence in the future. More simply, it is called vision," added Iohannis. More than 200 civil society organizations from the EU member states, the Western Balkans and Norway participate in the forum.AGERPRES(RO - author: Daniel Florea, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Maria Voican)