Diplomacy: state visit at the umpteenth attempt: Steinmeier travels to Romania

diplomacy
State visit at the umpteenth attempt: Steinmeier travels to Romania

First the corona pandemic intervened, then Russia’s attack on Ukraine – but this Wednesday Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier finally begins a state visit to Romania that has been postponed several times.

At the invitation of President Klaus Iohannis, he will spend three days with the EU and NATO partner, visiting the capital Bucharest, Sibiu and Timisoara. Hermannstadt is the home of Iohannis, who will also accompany Steinmeier there. Timisoara is the European Capital of Culture this year.

600 km long border with Ukraine

The Russian war of aggression that has been raging in Ukraine for more than a year will inevitably be an important topic during the visit, after all Romania has a 600-kilometer direct border with Ukraine in the north. At about the same length in the east is only the narrow strip of the Republic of Moldova between Romania and Ukraine.

Above all, Steinmeier and Iohannis want to pay tribute to the close mutual relationships between their countries. The correct – and actually intended – date for this would have been last year, because that was the 30th anniversary of the signing of the contract on friendly cooperation and partnership. It was closed on April 21, 1992. But in view of the war of aggression in Ukraine that Russia had started a few weeks earlier, a state visit with a state banquet, receptions and other ceremonial appointments was felt to be inappropriate.

War also noticeable in Romania

Steinmeier therefore only came to Bucharest a year ago for a one-day working visit. The state visit is being saved “for times that are quieter,” he said at the time. However, these are not the times today. And so the topics of the past year have remained. Steinmeier will assure his interlocutors, including Romania’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, of Germany’s solidarity with the alliance. And he will appreciate Romania’s support for Ukraine.

More than three million refugees came to Romania after the war began, of which around 109,000 stayed in the country, according to the UN. 8,000 of them have found jobs here, mainly in construction, gastronomy and retail. About 40 percent of the refugees receive school lessons, online or face-to-face. The state provided 18 million euros for refugee care, and a further 100 million euros came from the EU.

Romania also helped Ukraine by increasing fuel exports many times over: According to the customs office, for example, 700,000 tons of diesel were exported in 2022 – after just 1,000 tons in 2021. The government is silent about military support. What is known, however, is that a repair center for the Marder armored personnel carriers is to be set up in Romania, which Western countries – including Germany – are supplying to the Ukraine.

Visit to Transylvanian Saxony and Banat Swabia

Steinmeier also wants to meet with representatives of the German minority during the state visit. In the most recent census in 2021, around 22,900 people said they were. Before the mass emigration under communism and the subsequent political change, there were around 800,000. The two most important groups are the Lutheran-Protestant Transylvanian Saxons and the predominantly Catholic Banat Swabians.

The members of the minority are often referred to as mediators in German-Romanian relations. The Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of the Interior are supporting the German minority this year with a total of 3.8 million euros. Around 900,000 euros of this is earmarked for the promotion of German-language teaching.

dpa