President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday issued a message on the National Culture Day saying that 'it finds us at a crossroads moment for the future of Romania' and voiced his confidence that 'in building this future, which we want to be balanced and prosperous, culture will play an essential role.'

'We are celebrating today the 175th anniversary of poet Mihai Eminescu's birthday. As a token of profound gratitude for his incommensurable contribution to the national and universal cultural patrimony, 2025 was declared 'The Eminescu Year,' at the initiative of the Romania Academy and of the Science Academy of the Republic of Moldova. The National Culture Day finds us at a crossroads moment for the future of Romania. I trust that, in building this future, which we want to be balanced and prosperous, culture will play an essential role. This is a time when we are reflecting on how and which way we want our country to develop, on our commitments to the European ideal, on our commitments to our partners and allies in the European and Euroatlantic spaces and, the most important, on our commitment to the future generations. Political decisions must thus reflect the collective option of a society based on authentic values and performance, integrity, education and responsibility,' the head of state said in his message.

He also said that we have the duty to reflect on the models that we want to follow, on the message that we want to convey to the young, by quoting Mihai Eminescu's urging 'If you want to see a nation's level of general culture, you need to see its idols.'

'In the spirit of this exhortation of the one who, through his creation, raised Romanian culture to the highest heights, we are obliged to reflect on the models we want to follow, on the message we want to convey to the young people. Mihai Eminescu belonged to an era in which culture meant truth, freedom, sacrifice, loyalty and duty, a generation that transformed culture into a true shield against extremism, xenophobia and hate speech and violence,' states the head of state.

According to President Klaus Iohannis, culture is fundamental for the development of a nation.

'Culture is fundamental for the development of a nation, because it defines the hierarchy of values that guides society and influences the destinies of citizens. Academic culture and the culture of participatory democracy are both essential to sustain dialogue, knowledge and cooperation between institutions and people. Thanks to the ideals that the elites gave voice to in Romanian culture, our country was able to be reborn after the war, achieving state unity and modernisation and resisting decades of dictatorship and totalitarianism, freely and with dignity regaining its place in Europe. In the founding and decisive moments of national history, culture represented the force that inspired the solidarity of the entire people to carry out important projects for Romania,' says the head of state.

President Iohannis specifies that, beyond the inevitable difficulties, Romania has, including from a cultural perspective, valuable human resources, an internationally recognized creative potential, as well as an impressive legacy of intercultural dialogue and good coexistence, in a space of cultural diversity.

'In our country, culture is the expression of the high synthesis of everything that the different ethnic and linguistic communities have shared, cultivated and transmitted over the generations, illustrating the European principle of unity in diversity,' adds the head of state.

He shows that Mihai Eminescu achieved in poetry what George Enescu achieved in his music: anchoring the Romanian specifics in the horizon of universal values, giving our culture a broad openness and self-awareness in the dialogue with European and world culture.

'The events dedicated to the 'Eminescu Year' will undoubtedly reveal that Mihai Eminescu was 'the unique poet whose work defeats time' and, at the same time, a lucid patriot who believed in the destiny of the Romanian nation, in its historical mission. Following this model, people of culture and public institutions, creators and cultural operators must unite today to make culture a competitive and relevant benchmark, a pillar of national renaissance, a resilient force in the reconstruction of tomorrow's Romania. Happy birthday to national culture and its creators!' concluded President Iohannis. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Mihai Simionescu, EN - author: Cristina Zaharia)