UPDATE President Iohannis: Germans of Romania, integral part of our country's history and identity

The Germans of Romania are an integral part of our country's history and identity, President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday evening, at the reception on German Unity Day. "The Germans of Romania are an integral part of our country's history and identity, also representing a special binder of the bilateral relationship," he said. Klaus Iohannis brought to mind that Germany is in the Top 3 of investors in Romania, with over 10 billion euro. This amount, he pointed out, "demonstrates the deep commitment." In his speech, the head of state spoke about "the spirit of Sibiu", demonstrated during the May summit. "The spirit of a union that wants to protect its citizens and invest in the future of the new generations, remaining united and in solidarity in the face of many challenges," he stressed. According to Iohannis, "beyond the action of the politicians, the decisive contribution to the excellence of the current bilateral relationship has been brought by the citizens of the two countries". The reception marked 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, which Iohannis called "a decisive step towards a unified, free and democratic Europe". "The reunification of the German people, on October 3, 1990, created the premises for a prosperous future, defined by the values of freedom and democracy, but also for the reunification of the entire Europe. The states of Europe are meant to be together and will only grow together. This is the foundation of the European project," the head of state pointed out. He also spoke about Romania's efforts to strengthen the European project. "Romania has fully assumed its responsibility of making the Union stronger and, despite the challenges, the contribution of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union to obtaining the Member States' consensus has been a substantial one, with the objective of deepening the European integration," the president affirmed. The president thanked Germany "for the leading support that it has consistently shown for the steadfast and consistent efforts" made to defend and strengthen the rule of law in Romania. "The Romanian society resonates deeply and with maturity to this objective, and the overwhelming success of the referendum on justice, which I convened and won, on May 26, together with almost 6.5 million Romanians, has proved it abundantly," Klaus Iohannis underscored. AGERPRES(RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Andreea Rotaru; EN - editor: Simona Iacob)