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Bucharest, April 5 /Agerpres/ - Romania's President Traian Basescu said on Sunday, at the close of the EU-US summit meeting in Prague, that a new era started in the trans-Atlantic relationship. The Romanian head of state voiced conviction, shared by many other political leaders, that this relationship will be very strong in the period immediately ahead. Traian Basescu said the meeting tackled all the points on the agenda. 'Perhaps the greatest achievement of the summit was the confirmation that US President Obama will support the EU's objectives and will be a partner to the EU at the Copenhagen Conference, the post-Kyoto conference, where the US will commit at par with Europe to combat climate change as a result of polluting emissions. This was in fact the point over which most of the question marks were raised as far as the US commitment was concerned,' said Basescu. The President mentioned that is his speech, supported by other heads of state or government as well, he insisted that an important element, besides curbing noxious emissions and besides the measures taken so far - including the use of renewable energy production solutions and the use of fuels generated by agriculture - nuclear energy is one of the stakes that both sides accept as a solution to curb emissions and protect the environment. The President also mentioned that in his speech he tanked President Obama for the US engagement, alongside the EU, in the process of curbing emissions in an attempt to reduce their effect on climate change. At the same time, Basescu said using river transportation would be another important element in curbing the greenhouse gas emissions, and Europe can use the Danube to this end. 'As far as Europe is concerned, commissioning and using river transportation to its fullest, particularly on the Rhine-Danube navigation way linking the Black Sea to the North Sea is also a viable and practical solution to curbing pollution generated by road transportation, which accounts for 30 percent of emissions in Europe,' said Basescu. At the same time, Basescu mentioned that US President Obama asked Europe for support in closing down the Guantanamo prison. 'The dismantling of the Guantanamo prison was a topic raised by President Obama and anticipated by us. The matter was not up for discussions, as the objective of President Obama is closing the prison by January 22, 2010, and President Obama asked Europeans for support in this process, and he was offered assurances that he will receive support after the relevant specialists have conducted the necessary talks and agreed ways to help the US close down the Guantanamo prison,' said Basescu. Asked by the journalists to enlarge on this matter, President Basescu said, 'This is all I can tell you.' President Basescu said the situation generated by the ongoing economic crisis was also tackled during the talks in Prague and a conclusion was reached that the crisis can be overcome when the European Union and the US have recovered economically. 'Joint action is an essential and sure thing, although there are different nuances between approaches, between the US policy of financing the banking system and financial involvement at the EU level. The conclusion was that we will have overcome the crisis when the US and the EU have recovered economically,' said Basescu. The President also mentioned that the participants in the news conference at the end of the EU-US informal meeting in Prague called on North Korea to take a peaceful stance that will not generate security inconveniences to its neighbours and its geographical location, as North Korea launched a satellite that many analysts argue could be used as a long-range missile that could reach the US state of Alaska. The Romanian head of state also said that President Obama repeatedly said that the US will unreservedly apply Article 5 of the North-Atlantic Treaty, thus providing the surety expected by all those located at the eastern borders of NATO. 'There is nothing spectacular about President Obama having repeatedly said that the US will unreservedly apply Article 5 of the North-Atlantic Treaty, but you may say it was a reply to the worries expressed yesterday over the influence areas and what is happening in the Black Sea region,' said Basescu. Article 5 says 'The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.' In summarising the outcome of the US-EU summit meeting in Prague, Basescu said, 'In my opinion, although no document of this informal meeting was issued, it was extremely useful because it set forth new parameters for the EU-US relationship and, moreover, it established a partnership on major current and future world issues.' Asked at the end of the news conference what the conclusions of the meeting were as far as Romania was concerned and what Romania should do, President Basescu said Romania has to do what it has pledged to do, namely to observe its strategic partnership with the US and Romanians should be very good European because Europe is their home. 'Romanians have managed to do both things since they became members of the European Union,' the President concluded.
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