Strasbourg - AGERPRES special correspondent Ionut Mares reports: The European path is the correct solution for Romania, which cannot afford, given the current economic context, to lose access to European financial resources, Social Democratic Party (PSD) MEP Victor Negrescu said in Strasbourg on Tuesday, pointing out that, based on his European-level credentials, he can only continue to support the European path in the presidential election, while also respecting the PSD's decision not to express support for candidate Nicusor Dan in the second round of voting.

'A decision was made within the Social Democratic Party. Each leader has expressed their position. I have expressed a pro-European position. We'll see what the outcome of these elections will be,' Negrescu said in a conversation with Romanian journalists in the European Parliament.

He noted that so far there has been no discussion between PSD and the European Socialists regarding the decision not to support Nicusor Dan in the second round of the presidential election.

'At this moment, there has not been such a discussion. Probably there will be one, and the party president, Marcel Ciolacu, will speak with the European Socialists and explain the decision he proposed to his colleagues in the Social Democratic Party. As I mentioned, there were voices that supported the pro-European path for the party,' he clarified.

'I respect the decision made by the Social Democratic Party. At the same time, from my perspective as vice-president of the European Socialists and Democrats, I can only note that the Social Democratic Party presented itself as a pro-European party in local, parliamentary and presidential elections. Therefore, it seems natural for us to send this message, not necessarily focused on individuals, but on the risks posed by the far-right, and especially to stress why the Western, European path is the right solution for Romania. The correct solution for Romanians, but also for local development, because local authorities depend on the European funds we attract, and we have the example of states that, by choosing an extremist path, lost European funding,' said Victor Negrescu, who is also a Vice-President of the European Parliament.

'Romania cannot afford, in the current economic context, to lose these European financial resources. Therefore, based on my European-level credentials, I can only continue to support the European path in this presidential election,' he stressed.

Negrescu called the stance of the European People's Party (EPP) group in the European Parliament, criticising PSD for not supporting Nicusor Dan, 'political posturing,' adding that such an 'approach does not help identify a solution.'

'Moreover, the European People's Party has found itself in similar situations, even collaborating with the far-right in several European states. Therefore, we cannot accept lessons from the European People's Party,' he said.

Asked why PSD failed to get its candidate into the second round of the presidential elections, both last year and in the current vote, Negrescu said that 'an analysis is underway,' but stressed the importance of focusing on the current situation.

'There were internal discussions; the analysis is ongoing. There are many things that can be discussed regarding why we ended up in this situation. However, even if we identify the problems, that doesn't solve the situation. I prefer to focus on what's happening now. The Social Democratic Party needs to conduct a thorough analysis of its future, its identity, and its projects. There are many good things we have accomplished, and I am extremely proud of them, like Romania's accession to the Schengen area,' Negrescu explained.

'There are also areas where we still face challenges as a country, where perhaps we could have offered better solutions or communicated more effectively. We need to acknowledge all these things and move forward, because again, the public and political agendas are pressuring us to act more boldly and quickly,' he warned.

According to Negrescu, a president of Romania who is 'extremist or a contrarian' would be a president 'unable to join together other European leaders around projects of interest to Romania.'

'For example, such a president could never build a majority or reach unanimity on important topics, as was the case with Romania's accession to Schengen. They would be unable to negotiate more EU funds for Romania in the long-term European budget. They would be unable to secure higher subsidies for Romanian farmers because they wouldn't have anyone to work with, given their attitude. Today, important matters directly affecting Romanians' rights and benefits are being decided at the European level. And we need a president capable of discussing and negotiating with everyone, imposing their vision by building, not destroying, European negotiations. That is the major risk,' said the PSD MEP.

He gave Hungary as an example, which, due to 'Viktor Orban's behavior on certain issues,' lost billions of euros in funding through the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, leading to economic stagnation in the neighbouring country.

'It is not a problem to have an attitude that represents Romania with dignity, that is not what we are talking about. But an extremist, radical attitude, lacking a willingness to build, that is what risks harming Romania. Obviously, if, besides these, decisions are made affecting the rule of law and citizens' freedoms, they risk being sanctioned and affecting all Romanians directly,' Negrescu warned. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Mariana Ionescu; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)