Romanian Prime Minister-designate Ludovic Orban has invited tech giant Google to set up an office in Romania, citing favorable and business and investment conditions.
Orban met the Google vice president of global affairs Kent Walker at the Munich Security Conference this weekend where he “presented measures adopted by his government,” and suggested the company have a presence in Romania, his office said.
More than 35 heads of state or governments and more than 100 foreign and defense ministers are taking part at the 2020 Munich Security Conference which ends Sunday.
Orban also held talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the conference Saturday telling him Romania was “fully” prepared to join the Schengen area.
Romania joined the EU in 2007 but its justice system remains under special monitoring due to long-running concerns over the rule of law and corruption.
It also hasn’t been admitted to Europe’s Schengen passport-free zone, an ongoing source of frustration for successive governments.
The Netherlands has been the most vocal opponent of its admission to the Schengen area.
During a EU summit in Sibiu in May 2019, Rutte said the country would be ready for membership “ when it complies with the rule of law and democracy,” adding that it was currently not going in the right direction.
While Orban’s Liberals are viewed as more reform-minded than the previous Social Democratic government in Europe, it is unlikely that the Netherlands will immediately change its position on Schengen, due to the current political instability.
Orban has been renominated to form a government after parliament dismissed his Liberal minority government in a no-confidence vote this month. There are doubts that his government will win parliamentary approval later this month.
The conference has exposed deep divisions between the U.S and Europe. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo glossed over differences between Washington and its European allies on issues such as Iran, China and trade. He emphasized that the Western rules-based international order remains the best system for ensuring individuals rights and economic prosperity.
“I’m happy to report that the death of the transatlantic alliance is grossly over exaggerated. The West is winning, and we’re winning together,” he told the audience.
But German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, criticized Trump’s “America First” foreign policy a day earlier, saying that it came at the expense of European allies.
“Our closest ally, the United States of America, under the current administration, rejects the very concept of the international community,” he said ‘Great again’ but at the expense of neighbors and partners,” Steinmeier added. “Thinking and acting this way hurts us all.”
