When President Joe Biden and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis met at the White House last week, the praise for Romania's commitment to NATO and the protection of Europe reaffirmed the country's role as a cornerstone of Western defense against the threats posed by Russian aggression in Ukraine. The need to advance the legitimate interests of the critical U.S. ally may now be more important than ever.
Just a few weeks before the Biden-Iohannis meeting, Romanian Deputy Prime Minister Catalin Predoiu led a major diplomatic offensive in Washington. In meetings with senior leaders in the Administration and Congress, the Deputy Prime Minister made a strong case for a more strategic alliance on key issues, including NATO defense, energy, and the need to complete Romania's integration into the European free-movement zone by the end of 2024.
The State Department, through Counselor Derek Chollet, regarded the visit as a resounding success expressing that the two countries are working together even more closely on security and energy issues, and that they are both committed to supporting Ukraine. House and Senate leaders equally followed with vocal bipartisan support, which was solidified after more than a dozen high-level individual meetings with senior members of most important committees.
The level of bipartisan support for the Deputy Prime Minister's visit and the subsequent meeting between the Presidents is arguably a rather unique phenomenon today. However, it is important to recognize the significant role that Romania and its leaders play in maintaining the country's position as one of U.S. most reliable NATO allies and guarantors of European security. Romania is a European nation that has consistently exceeded its NATO commitment to spend at least 2% of its GDP on defense, well ahead of many of its partners. Romania has also been instrumental in supporting the Ukrainian struggle for freedom and survival. On the one hand, its military equipment delivered or promised to Ukraine is proportionally much higher than that of many other European partners.
On the other hand, the world's source of food and Ukraine's source of income - grain - these days depends almost exclusively on Romania's ability to offer its territory for the transportation of over 25 million tons of grain to the world market - every year. At the same time, according to the EU itself, the Romanian border is one of the safest in Europe, with almost no illegal crossings, an accomplishment not in small part achieved by the Deputy Prime Minister, who also holds the position of the country's interior minister.
In a paradox of itself, despite these facts and figures, Romania is one of only a couple of EU Member States still not granted full access to the Schengen free movement zone of Europe. And this issue is far from being just another European local diplomatic issue.
Not being in Schengen means that Ukrainian grain sits at Romanian borders for weeks at a time, risking mass scale spoilage and ruining access to cheap food for the world's most vulnerable population, as well as reducing Ukraine's ability to earn from exports of its mass product, thus hurts Ukraine's economy and its ability to prosecute the war.
Negotiations with the Austrian government, which had previously blocked Romania's access, citing concerns about the flow of refugees across the European border, are still ongoing. The progress in opening the Schengen zone to Romanians for air and sea travel, was achieved just earlier this year through direct negotiations between Deputy Prime Minister Predoiu and his counterpart in Austria, Interior Minister Karner.
What remains to be done is to resolve the last Austrian objections to the free movement of Romanians by land. The issue was brought to the fore again when the Romanian Deputy Prime Minister's visit to Washington saw a resounding political endorsement.
The importance of giving Romania the freedom of travel it has earned and clearly deserves goes far beyond its own borders. Ukraine's future may depend on its continued ability to send its grain freely throughout Europe and to destinations beyond the continent's borders.
Duggan Flanakin is a senior policy analyst at the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow.
