Ukraine officially recognizes that Romanian minority speaks Romanian, not “Moldovan”

The Ukrainian government recently made Romanian the official language of the Romanian minority in Ukraine, instead of the "Moldovan language." The measure was adopted in the context of Ukraine's obligation to meet the criteria for EU accession, with one of the criteria pertaining to the rights of national minorities. 

“From this moment on, there is only one official language internationally - the Romanian language. I believe that [the removal of] this invention of the Russian Federation, through this decision of the Ukrainian government, has rectified an injustice," stated Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu during the joint press statement on October 18 in Kyiv, alongside Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal, cited by News.ro. 

The Romanian PM also thanked president Volodymyr Zelensky for his support in the matter.

"Mr. President, I am truly delighted that we managed to have this joint government meeting. It was a very productive meeting. I am very satisfied. I can see that Denys is equally pleased," Ciolacu further conveyed to the Ukrainian leader at the beginning of their meeting. 

"We are talking about the rapid accession of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the European Union. For this accession, there are also principles regarding the rights of minorities. These principles are at the European level, and Romania has adhered to all the necessary principles for EU accession. Concerning minority rights, I am convinced that Romania can provide the entire legislation to Ukraine, as this approach is a best practice in Romania. The inter-institutional relationship between me and the prime minister is no longer about making promises. We decide together what is best for the people we represent,” Marcel Ciolacu added, cited by Agerpres.

Additionally, the Romanian prime minister conveyed to the president of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, that Romania is ready to provide support to Ukraine in drafting the necessary legislation for EU accession. 

The Romanian and Ukrainian governments signed agreements in Kyiv on Wednesday for the construction of a road border bridge over the Tisa River at the Romanian-Ukrainian border and a Memoranda of Cooperation in the defense industry and the pharmaceutical sector. They also signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Romanian and Ukrainian governments to enhance cooperation in ensuring the safe transit of Ukrainian products, which includes an annex outlining the strategy for developing border crossing points between Ukraine and Romania and related road infrastructure.

The Romanian Orthodox priests will also continue officiating religious services in the Romanian language as part of the agreement between the two countries. 

Furthermore, Romania will receive European funding of EUR 1.2 billion for the modernization of six border crossing points at the northern border and the development of eight additional points. These decisions will improve the flow of goods and people across the border between Romania and Ukraine so as to meet the immediate import and export needs of the neighboring country affected by the conflict, as conveyed by the government in a press release.

Romanian president Klaus Iohannis also expressed his approval of the Ukrainian government's decision to acknowledge that the Romanian population does not speak "Moldovan," but the Romanian language. "This is an important step in building a strong strategic partnership between Romania and Ukraine," Iohannis wrote on X, cited by G4Media.

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(Photo source: Marcel Ciolacu on X)