Romania has taken measures to include in the joint Ukraine-EU declaration, signed on Friday in Kyiv, a clause concerning national minorities, official sources told HotNews.ro.

According to the results of the Romanian side’s diplomatic negotiations, the same sources claim, the final text included a clause according to which the authorities in Kyiv undertake to consult with representatives of national minorities, as well as with the Venice Commission on legislative matters. measures against minorities.

“The EU and Ukraine have confirmed their commitment to full respect of the rights of persons belonging to minorities, as enshrined in UN and Council of Europe conventions and relevant protocols. In this regard, Ukraine will continue to hold consultations and cooperate with the Venice Commission and will continue substantive dialogue with representatives of persons belonging to minorities, including regarding relevant legislation. The EU is ready to continue to help Ukraine in its reforms and their implementation,” said a joint Ukraine-EU statement.

The highest officials of the European Union met on Friday in Kyiv to show support for Ukraine’s accession to the EU bloc.

Recently, Ukraine adopted a new law on national minorities, which caused outrage in Bucharest.

On December 22, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania (MFA) sent an extremely critical analysis to Kyiv, considering it “regrettable” that the normative act was adopted without consultation with the Venice Commission and the Romanian community in Ukraine. Minister Bohdan Aurescu handed over the position to his Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kuleba along with a list of provisions that, according to the Romanian side, “may have a negative impact, referring to European standards.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminds that in the Conclusion formulated on June 17, 2022 regarding Ukraine’s application to join the European Union, the European Commission indicated, among the steps to be taken, the completion of the reform of the legislative framework regarding the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission, and immediate adoption of effective implementation mechanisms.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers it regrettable that the law was adopted in the absence of new consultations of the Venice Commission, the conclusion of which would certainly contribute to ensuring a comprehensive and clear text from the point of view of European legal standards in this matter, including by examining how its previous recommendations are reflected in the regulatory text. It is also regrettable that the law was adopted in the absence of proper consultations with the representatives of the Romanian community in Ukraine, as the Romanian side demanded,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The Ministry under the leadership of Bohdan Aureska asked the Ukrainian authorities to consult with the Venice Commission at this stage and fully implement its recommendations, taking into account the fact that the law provides for a six-month period for its entry into force.

“Romania fully supports the European path of Ukraine and understands the natural desire to speed up the process of rapprochement with the EU, Qnsă signals that the untimely acceleration of the legislative process in this area significantly affected the process of consultations with representatives of national minorities, which should have been one of the essential ones before the adoption of the law. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes that it has repeatedly appealed to the Ukrainian side with a request to carefully consult the Romanian community in Ukraine in the process of drafting and adopting the law,” the message reads.

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On January 4, President Klaus Iohannis held a telephone conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyi, in which the Romanian head of state “mentioned for a long time” the law on minorities, which “caused concern and dissatisfaction at the level of the Romanian authorities and representatives of the Romanian community.” in Ukraine,” the Presidential Administration said in a statement.

“President Klaus Iohannis asked President Zelensky to quickly find a solution to solve and eliminate these problems. In this sense, the two presidents agreed that in the near future the foreign ministers of the two countries will hold discussions on the bilateral settlement of these issues,” the quoted source said.

As reported in the Presidential Administration, Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed “complete openness to finding solutions so that the Romanian community in Ukraine enjoys the same rights as the Ukrainian community in Romania.”