Helle Thorning –Schmidt, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark
Welcome to this short press briefing. First of all, I would like to thank Prime Minister Victor Ponta for coming to Copenhagen today and for an excellent meeting where we had a very good discussion. It is a pleasure to have you here, and we had the opportunity to have a good exchange.
What we are seeing these days is that our two countries Denmark and Romania are becoming closer; we have always been closer partners and allies and our bilateral relation is growing strong this year, and I am glad to see that in terms of trade relations, relations between Denmark and Romania, they are even going from a good perception to a better perception, and that is good for Romania hopefully and that is very good for Denmark as well.
In fact, one of the things we agreed today is to improve our partnership, by agreeing to explore Danish – Romanian cooperation in the field of green growth to see if this partnership can be enhanced by these agreements.
We did not talk only about our bilateral relations; we also talked about European issues: and we discussed the European situation, of course we touched upon the Multiannual Financial Framework. And as you know one of the issues that you know is of interest to Romania and of course to Romanian Prime Minister is the issue of Schengen where we have assured the Prime Minister, I have assured the Prime Minister that they can count on Denmark in keeping our position in terms of finalizing the Schengen admission.
So, that has been an excellent meeting, thank you Prime Minister for coming here today and now, the floor is yours.

 

Victor Ponta, Prime Minister of Romania
Thank you very much. I would like to express my gratitude to Prime Minister Thorning – Schmidt for the invitation. As she already mentioned, our bilateral relationship has always been excellent but good relations should be kept and I am very glad to be the first Prime Minister visiting Denmark after 2004.
I would like to inform you as I informed the Prime Minister that the most important issue of this visit was of course to confirm the political relationship, but also to try to have more economic relations. And Denmark for Romania is an excellent example of good governance, of green growth, of energy efficiency, and modern technologies in agriculture, so I have just expressed to the Prime Minister, to the Government but also to the representatives of the business community here in Denmark that they are welcome in Romania. We have a huge potential but also, we have an important need for investments, for green investments, for new technologies in energy and agriculture.
I am very optimist that the Danish companies will invest more and that we will succeed together in what it is the main goal as Prime Ministers: to create jobs here, in Denmark, in Romania, to create growth, and to offer our people a better future.
I would also like to appreciate very much the constant position of the Danish Government in favor of Romania’s accession to the Schengen area but also, not only to Schengen area but to play a more important role on the European stage.
I invited the Prime Minister to come back to Bucharest, and to spend more than several hours like it happened last time, and of course, to have the opportunity to see that Romania is not only Bucharest, and the official buildings. A green Romania should be an objective following the excellent example of green Denmark.
PM Helle Thorning - Schmidt
Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister. If there are any questions.
Reporter
Mr. Prime Minister, I would like to ask you after your meeting with the businessmen in the morning, what is your feeling about it? Are they interested in Romania, to invest in Romania? And what are the fields, especially green investments or something else? What companies are interested to invest in Romania?
PM Victor Ponta
They definitely are interested, but, as I have expressed previously, the Danish business environment is used with a very transparent environment, with a stable legislation. The first thing I assured them is that right now, Romania is a stable and predictable country, in terms of politics but also in terms of legislation. We have our incentive strategies to invest the Danish companies to invest in energy, and agriculture and we have a particular interest in the energy efficiency. I would give you just one figure which is very important: Denmark and Romania are amongst the first three European countries in terms of energy independence, which is a great thing for both countries, but when it comes to energy efficiency, Denmark is still on the first position, and Romania is on the last one, so, here, it is the huge difference. And here, we are very optimist that the CEOs of the companies that I met today, some of them will continue to invest in Romania, some others to open new investments. Thank you.

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Press statements by PM Victor Ponta following his visit to the Kingdom of Denmark

Good evening. Thank you for having agreed to have this meeting not at Copenhagen, but here, where conditions are appropriate and where maybe, you may have other additional questions. I want only to say, very on brief, even perhaps it is not the most important topic, the fact that I paid the visit in Denmark, exactly with the same intention and strategy to discuss with our European partners, the same as it was in Paris, or in Vienna, to discuss issues related to the economic cooperation, investments in Romania, job creation, our partnerships within EU, daily problems. I was very glad alike in Paris, here in Copenhagen, to hear from the Prime Minister, in the press conference with me, her further support for Romania’s admission to Schengen and for all the projects especially the economic ones carried out by Danish companies in Romania. Leaving this aside, to me, this was the most important, I am ready to answer your questions…

Reporter
Mr. Prime Minister …..made a press statement, told that …if this evening…Do you intend to dismiss Mr. Fenechiu?

PM Victor Ponta
No.

Reporter
He said that if you appoint him Minister, he will suspend him the very next day. How do you comment on this?

PM Victor Ponta
I want to tell you one thing: I occupy this office as Prime Minister, to do what this office implies, namely to try every day, through our Government decisions, domestically and abroad to ensure a better life to Romania, a better functioning of public institutions, a better representation of Romania and Romania’s interests at European and international level. In my job responsibilities, it is not to comment what President says, who having nothing to do, makes statements. I found out upon return, that President held a press conference, I am glad, I wish him to hold as many as possible, I work, whereas he deals with telling lies, but I manage, I got accustomed to it. Do not get upset on me, but to analyze what President Basescu states, I am convinced that the press will do it this evening. I have things to sort out for Romania…President Basescu is not the only to throw difficulties in my way, there are others as well. I think I should not waste too much time with that. Please.

Reporter
A bit more exact..the President…

PM Victor Ponta
More precisely.

Reporter
…I had a dishonest reaction to him.

PM Victor Ponta
I do not take any interest in the insults professed by President Basescu for some time, from the famous epithets, which I am sure you know and you remember. President Basescu cannot insult me, I consider myself at least one of the 7, 4 millions Romanians, generally insulted by the presence and attitude of President Basescu in certain occasions. But that is not the object of my activity as Prime Minister. Taking note of his statements last evening, I could not but notice that the main enemy of Romania’s accession to Schengen is President Basescu himself.

He is the one who wants the most not to enter Schengen and I see that every day, he finds reasons that he possibly suggest to our European partners, why not be received in Schengen. While I go and talk to heads of government and receive public statements of support, while I welcome Mr. President Antonescu going to Haga, while the Foreign Minister, and the other Government representatives make diplomatic efforts to achieve that aim, the President searches reasons not to be received. After the very bad moment in which the President presented us at the European Council and obtained the biggest cut in funds applicable to any country, I do not understand this negative attitude, but we live with it.

Reporter
President Basescu argues that that letter was addressed to you as…

PM Victor Ponta
I did not present it to the press. Please ask your journalist colleague from where he has it.

Reporter
…

PM Victor Ponta
I do not make public the correspondence between Prime Minister and President, but whenever it is the case. I did not do it at present, but I confirmed the presence or existence of a letter.

Reporter
In the last 72 hours, from your statements, as the President has not made others, it seems to us that the co-habitation pact is over. Is it still valid anymore?

PM Victor Ponta
When did I infringe it?

Reporter
You did infringe it telling that the President would not want that Romania enters Schengen. Schengen is one of the topics of the cohabitation pact.

PM Victor Ponta
I notice the fact that the President rejoices. I could see he is very unhappy with me unlocking the HRD SOP and that we managed to make payments. He would not want us to unlock the HRD POS and give money to people. I am nevertheless duty bound to those who voted me and gave me the confidence vote in Parliament, to go ahead and succeed. I unlocked European funds too and we will succeed at a certain point in time, despite the opposition of Mr. President, to enter the Schengen area.
We have to meet all our national objectives and I am sorry that we were not admitted into Schengen during Boc Cabinet, when it was only President Basescu and Boc Cabinet. I do not think they have to rejoice for us having the same trouble, But I repeat, I met European Prime Ministers with whom I spoke about the entry into Schengen, and none of them did offer the arguments President Basescu offers for us not to be admitted. Therefore, the arguments for us not to be admitted to Schengen are offered exactly by the one who, alongside me, should take steps for that objective to be met.

Reporter
Does the cohabitation continue? Yes or not?

PM Victor Ponta
Yes, what other solution do we have?

Reporter
There are some states currently saying: Let us the report of December. That automatically means pushing / time to discuss access / in Schengen in 2014 '. End of quote from President Traian Basescu.
Victor Ponta: President certainly if he had been a serious man, he would have specified which Member States.
Reporter :: / ... /?
Victor Ponta: No, God forbid. I say one thing, that when you are President of a country or Prime Minister, you cannot talk on sources or gossip. You need to say if you are referring to a state. I was only referring positively to the states and the governments with whom I have had contact in recent time and, as you were with me today in Copenhagen, Danish Prime Minister said very clearly that she supports our entry into the Schengen area. You were with me in Paris, French Prime Minister said the same thing. That the president knows who does not agree, as president you cannot talk like that. But I tell you one thing. I understand that President Băsescu is in election campaign for PDL, but the fact that they do this race for favorite candidate or candidate speaking each time and hitting the interests of Romania, since entry into Schengen is a national objective, it does not belong only to Government, it seems a gesture typical for Basescu, unusual for a normal society.
Reporter: Do you have a meeting scheduled with President Traian Basescu in the next period?
Victor Ponta: Tonight no, I let him sleep peacefully.
Reporter: In the next period?
Victor Ponta: I do not know, when it is appropriate to work institutionally together, I will not ever deny it to him.
Reporter / ... /.
Victor Ponta: He knows very well that is not true or directly, he lies you. He knows very well, that the decision to be taken or to be delayed, in March, is mainly related to domestic political considerations and not from Romania. But what matters is that I am determined until JHA Council day that all government representatives to continue these diplomatic efforts. If in March, it will be postponed again, as it was postponed, you remember in 2011, we make the same efforts in October. I, unlike Mr. President Basescu, I have quite many years ahead in which to fight and get results for Romania and not only to account failure after failure, as he did.

Reporter : you say that if we do not join the Schengen now, Basescu is to be blamed? / ... /?

Victor Ponta: No, no, no way. I'm not saying that. I say that if we do not join it now, it will be a political decision justified by the internal political situation in a state or another. I say otherwise, that President Basescu seems to enjoy this. It is the only Romanian who enjoys Romania not entering Schengen and it is a way of thinking that I fail to understand.
Reporter / But can our country bear another crisis of external image / / how President and Prime Minister again,... /?
Victor Ponta: No, because everywhere I go, in Brussels, Vienna, Paris, Copenhagen, where I will go further on, I have assured with all honesty and I do strongly believe that Romania will not have any political crisis until the presidential election, when it chooses another president and that no matter what Basescu said, fortunately, he cannot do anything, no matter what he says, I will treat him with condescension.
Reporter: But to what extent do you think that cohabitation between you and the President can be internationally credible, even if you want it to continue?
Victor Ponta: But it works, because we establish one thing that each one, the President and Prime Minister, fulfills its constitutional duties. From the point of view of the Romanian press, cohabitation means to boast and to flatter each other every day ... No. From the institutional point of view, until tonight including, President Basescu did not do absolutely nothing to violate the constitutional powers of the government and I have not done anything to violate the constitutional powers of the President. Saying that we are poorly represented in the European Council is a reality. But if CCR decided so, the President goes until there is another decision. The President said that if it were him, he would have unlocked all European funds, which his Government locked, it is his opinion, but he is not Prime Minister. So what matters after all, for the functioning of state institutions is that beyond declarations, and please note that I did not ever come out with statements, except possibly in response to what the President says, I, unlike him I'm busy and I do not have time to make statements, to be live on tv ….