General Mayor of Bucharest Nicusor Dan, an independent candidate in the presidential elections, responded in message to the president of the Concordia Employers' Confederation, Dan Sucu, on Wednesday, that private property is 'essential' to encourage Romania's progress.

The mayor added that these days, 'more than ever', entrepreneurs and the business environment need to 'actively' get involved in the debate that precedes the second round of the presidential elections.

'Romania needs direction, and in my vision of Honest Romania the only direction is the European and Atlantic one. I do not indicate this direction only in response to requests in electoral campaigns, I have demonstrated this every day both in civil society and as mayor of the Romanian capital. I understand your concern, especially since both my counter-candidate [Alliance for the Unity of Romanians' George Simion, editor's note] and the people mentioned [by the latter, editor's note] among the proposals for prime minister have given signals or were explicit that they want nationalization, decoupling from the European Union and giving up on the NATO shield,' Nicusor Dan's message reads.

He mentioned that Romania's institutions are 'dysfunctional, ineffective', 'monopolized by interest groups', but that they need to 'come back to the support' of citizens and the business environment. In this sense, public money needs to be spent 'much more responsibly', says the mayor general.

'Democracy and freedom are the foundation on which we can build Honest Romania. Rule of law is absolutely necessary to put public institutions back at the service of the citizen, and private property is essential to encourage progress and prosperity in Romania. (...) I am convinced that we share the same values, which I cannot say about my opponent, unfortunately. Therefore, your members should take a closer look at what Romania's presidential candidates have done so far, what they have said about Romania's direction and not just believe in letters of good intentions that they sign to win votes,' reads the general mayor's message.

Against the background of the second round of the presidential elections, the Concordia Employers' Confederation asks the two remaining candidates to declare publicly and unequivocally that: they will not change Romania's European and Euro-Atlantic path, they will not support tax increases and will be involved in eliminating economic imbalances, they will respect democracy, freedom, private property and the rule of law.

AUR chairperson George Simion, a candidate in the presidential elections, assured that Romania will not deviate from its European and Atlantic course.

'As the future president of Romania, I would like to state clearly: Romania will not deviate from its European and Atlantic course. Our membership of the European Union and our strategic partnership with the United States are firm benchmarks of stability and security, which we will strengthen and not contest,' said George Simion in a press release. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Irinela Visan; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)