Germany will support Romania's efforts to join the OECD, as this is one of its most important partner countries in Europe, but particularly in this region, visiting Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Action and Nuclear Safety Carsten Schneider declared on Friday in Bucharest following a bilateral meeting with his Romanian counterpart Diana Buzoianu.

'Romania is a wonderful country, blessed with a magnificent nature, with the Carpathian Mountains and the Black Sea, and these prerequisites for life are important not only for the economic activity, but also for our health. Maintaining and preserving the environment together with economic growth mean an important focus on clean and renewable energies, on circular economy, on their consolidation, and we discussed all these aspects over which we will strengthen our bond at European level. We discussed supporting each other not only at European level, where we should have common stances, but also in the activity of the environmental committee, which has existed for 25 years. We support Romania in its efforts to acquire OECD membership. Romania is one of our most important partner countries in Europe, but particularly in this region. Thank you for the good cooperation and Germany will stand by you!,' Schneider told a press conference delivered together with Minister Diana Buzoianu.

The German Environment Minister declared himself 'impressed' by the SUMAL program, but also by the Ro-Alert app.

'I was impressed by what Romania has achieved in recent years, especially through the SUMAL forest protection and illegal logging prevention program. It is a model in the EU. We are connected not only through a continent, but also through a river, the Danube, which originates in Germany and empties into the Black Sea in Romania. Together we must protect this river. It is in our interest and I am happy with our ongoing cooperation for the protection of waters in general and of the Danube River in particular. I wish the new government not only success in its challenging work, but at the same time I want us to carry on with our steady and sustainable cooperation,' said Carsten Schneider, who went on to say: 'I am sure that both of us, ministers, and our countries will continue our good collaboration. We, as the Federal Government, have received a mandate to strengthen and contribute to the cohesion of Europe and the member states, and to transform this region into one of the strongest regions in the world. Within this framework, of course, we must strengthen and protect everything environment and life foundations.'

In her turn, Romanian Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu emphasized that Romania and Germany have 145 years of diplomatic partnership built on solid foundations, and that the bilateral discussion focused on how to reduce pollution in the Danube Delta, as well as on the Air Quality Directive, which must be transposed into the law of each EU member state.

'We have just concluded a technical discussion of approximately one hour during which we dwelled on the importance of collaboration. There are 145 years of diplomatic partnership between Romania and Germany, 145 years that have laid solid foundations. It's a known fact that Germany is one of Romania's main business partners, so we also have multiple collaborations on this side. But our discussion today was about the environment, environmental protection and EU directives that need to be transposed. We discussed the cooperation we must be set in place in order to be able to reduce pollution in the Delta and for us all to enjoy biodiversity, a European treasure. We also discussed the Air Quality Directive that was amended and improved at the end of the previous year, which must be further transposed by each member state. Romania intends to incorporate this directive into national law as quickly as possible, enabling citizens to protect their health in pollution-curbing actions,' she stated.

The Romanian Environment minister gave assurances that Germany will support Romania in its OECD accession process.

'We asked and we are glad that we received a positive response - as a matter of fact we knew that this was the direction - of partnership and support for our OECD accession bid. These days we, at the Environment Ministry are in the final stages of writing the final regulatory acts, requirements for joining the OECD, and we are glad to have reliable allies at our side for our bid to be part of this forum,' Buzoianu specified.

On a different note, she drew attention to the fact that climate change is already being felt in Romania, as there are counties where the desertification process is in full swing, and that this is a community issue.

'We have shown our entire support for collaboration to address environmental problems that are actually similar at a European level. As we speak, in the next room there is a conference taking place on climate change, a conference that brings to our attention changes that are no longer abstract, but which are already here. In Romania we feel them. We have entire counties in Romania that undergo desertification, cities or communities that don't have access to water for eight hours a day, for example. We have increasingly more floods, extreme weather phenomena that impact us all, and it is clear that climate change is a community problem. It is a problem that we will certainly not be able to single-handedly solve in Romania. We need allies throughout Europe to be able to find solutions that will make us better adapted to these changes that have already shown up in our communities. (...) We will continue an open and inclusive dialogue on the environment, within the dedicated environmental committees, I was very happy that you brought up precisely this subject. There will certainly be an open and helpful collaboration, with best practice and experience sharing from both states. I am convinced that Romania also has best practice models that can be taken over and we also discussed SUMAL (...) and Ro-Alert, a system that is an example of best practice across Europe. We certainly have to learn from your best practices and experience, and in its turn, Romania can definitely bring some shareable best practices to the table,' the head of the Environment Ministry said.

Germany's Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Action and Nuclear Safety Carsten Schneider is paying a visit to Romania July 24 to 26, having meetings scheduled with Romanian politicians and representatives of the civil society regarding climate protection in Romania. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Tilica; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)