Romania representative in the European Commission, Multilingualism Commissioner Leonard Orban, participated on Thursday in a live dialogue on the Internet with HotNews.ro readers, answering their questions. The official approached issues like the situation of Romanian immigrants in Italy, the subsidies for agriculture, Justice of GMOs.
Some of the answers offered by the European official:
- "I am certain that there is no reason to believe that the measures adopted by the Italian government are targeted at Romanians or other EU citizens. I am sure that there is not any lobby campaign orchestrated against Romania. On the other hand, I believe that Romania has a serious image problem", said Orban, referring to the latest evolutions in Italy.
- "The fact that there were less demands for direct payments per hectare in 2008, compared to 2007 is, in fact, a positive aspect. Things were clarified. In 2007, adding up the demands led to a total higher than the entire agriculture surface in Romania. The payments this year may be made before the June 30 deadline".
- "Small farms play an important role. One of the EC suggestions is to allocate subsidies to farms, starting from one hectare surface and from 250 euro. Romania may benefit from these funds after 2013".
- "The European Commission does not share the point of view of those who say Romania and Bulgaria were accepted in the EU too early. The Commission believes that the accession is a success not only for the two new members, but for the entire Union".
- "I am certain that there is not any lobby conducted by the EU "main states" against Romania. On the other hand, I believe that Romania has a serious image problem".
- "None of the measures adopted by the Italian Government was yet notified to the European Union and therefore none was analyzed
