ROMANIAN PRESIDENT Traian Basescu has said he would propose all countries should keep their commissioner until the Lisbon Treaty issue is resolved at the summit in December. This would be done by extending all aspects of the Nice Treaty, he said.
President Basescu commented on the issue during discussions yesterday with President Mary McAleese as she attended official talks during the second day of her state visit.
However, on the Irish rejection of the treaty Mr Basescu added that Romania "does not see any other solution apart from waiting for the decision of the Irish people and rejects any solution that would imply a lack of solidarity between the EU 27".
Mrs McAleese said she was "very grateful to president Basescu for his understanding of the Irish situation in the wake of the Lisbon referendum".
Current issues in the region were also discussed by the two presidents. Russia's brief war with Georgia last month had raised fears that similar situations could arise in other former Soviet states, including Romania's neighbour Moldova.
"We have requested to Ireland to analyse supporting Moldova as being part of the package when discussing the EU enlargement," Mr Basescu said.
This was the first generation to have a significant Romanian population in Ireland which offered us "the promise held out by the EU that we would get to know each other with that degree of intimacy", Mrs McAleese said.
"Ireland has become a microcosm of what the EU is going to grow to be in the future," she said.
However, both the president and prime minister of Romania told her yesterday they were anxious to "attract their very far-flung diaspora home because they have a skills shortage and their country is growing at a huge rate".
Ireland had been very fortunate to have attracted highly educated and skilled young people who have invested in and enriched our economy and civic society, said Mrs McAleese.
Ireland and Romania have taken a long time to find each other, separated until recently by history and geography, Mrs McAleese said last night while addressing a state dinner.
"Now we are happily making up our history's wasted opportunities," she added.
Mrs McAleese also acknowledged yesterday "the work done by Irish NGOs in Romania mostly during the 1990s in spheres now undertaken by Romanians".
On Monday her visit to the country was criticised by Irish NGO Focus on Romania, which is concerned with the treatment of people in state-run institutions.
The group said the visit appeared to lend Irish support to Romania's "appalling" human rights record, particularly its treatment of people with disabilities.
However, the Romanian ambassador to Ireland insisted Romania's human rights record had greatly improved.
The President will travel to Cluj in Transylvania today on the last day of her visit where she will meet with members of a faculty of Irish studies at the Babe-Bolyai University.