Romania proposes the setup “Security Trust” dialogue platforms to build confidence, Foreign Affairs Minister Bodgdan Aurescu announced on Thursday. In his view, the platforms, based on a permament dialogue, could generate a trust environment and could raise de security conditions beyond EU neighborhood. FM Aurescu underlined that building a security belt around Europe is also needed.
“These ‘security trust’ can generate a trust environment and can expand the security and development conditions in an area that extends beyond the immediate vicinity of the Union. Reality shows we need building a true prosperity and security belt around us, not just through our neighbours, but through their neighbours, too. Because, indeed, the problems that generated the weakening of the security conditions around Europe actually come from the area of the neighbours of our neighbours,” Aurescu said in a debate on Romania’s contribution to the modernization of the European Neighbourhood Policy and to the EU approach to the Eastern Partnership, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Romanian FM exemplified that the North African immigrant waves crossing the Mediterranean Sea are posing serious pressures on the EU southern states.
“We have framed three dialogue platforms at the debate inside EU: a platform regarding the Black Sea and Caucasus region, another one regarding the Gulf area and Middle East and a last one for the Sub-Saharan Africa. These dialogue platforms do not include any military dimension (…) They relate to a series of multidimensional formats with the main actors involved, the main target being to bring together all those interested in transparently approaching the convergence topics and the divergence issues, on purpose to reach an agreement regarding the areas of common interest in that precise region,” FM Aurescu explained, adding that concrete projects could be launched on these political platforms.