Romania’s presidential election hopeful Cristian Terheș MEP has pledged to turn the screw on the European Union and rearm and rebuild the country in the race for the top job.
The European Reformists and Conservatives (ECR) Group representative in the European parliament told Brussels Signal that if he became president he would revamp international relations, in particular regarding the EU and Schengen.
“I want to make our voices heard. This is why I said 10 minutes after the elections, if Romania won’t be fully admitted to Schengen, I would block all [EU] decisions requiring unanimity and veto everything,” he said.
Terheș further pleaded for a stronger military for Romania, well-equipped and well-trained, ready to face the geopolitical challenges of the times as his country borders Ukraine.
“Every country that wants to protect its citizens needs an army. A safe environment lures people. No strong country has a weak military,” he said.
“NATO will benefit from this,” he added.
Terheș officially entered the race in October and is currently polling at around 4 per cent. Romania will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on November 24.
According to Terheș, the polls are not accurate. If he were to get into the second round, he said he was sure he would win the presidential race. “I’m not afraid of standing up against any competitor,” he stated.
“Competitors run away from debates with me. They are afraid. It happened four or five times already.”
He said he joined the race to “offer a Conservative alternative”, based on national sovereignty and Christian Democrat values.
Asked about his stance on the war in Ukraine, Terheș said: “What Russia did was wrong, evil and violated the sovereignty of Ukraine.
“Ukraine was a nuclear power. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was persuaded by the West to give its nuclear arsenal to Russia in exchange for the Budapest memorandum.”
In the memorandum, Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees by Russia, the US and the UK.
Now, Terheș said, “Those Western countries have an obligation to defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
But, he added, Romania was not involved in those discussions. If NATO were to be attacked, then it would be.
“Countries that have persuaded Ukraine in the past now have to help the country,” he asserted.
The MEP said he had three objectives as a candidate: for Romania to be powerful, safe and prosperous — and noted that many citizens had left the country looking for a better life.
Like many nations in the east of the EU, a fairly high number of Romanians have moved west, looking for jobs and better opportunities.
Terheș said he wanted to transform Romania into a country where its citizens chose to stay and inspired those who had left to return home.
“I was one of those people, and lived in the US for 17 years before I was elected to the European Parliament,” he said.
“We want to bring our people back home.”
Terheș also pledged to create a business-friendly environment that fostered prosperity, making it easier for all Romanians to start their own enterprises.
He said he wanted to create a flourishing economy, overhaul the educational system and change gender outlooks.
“We need to ban gender ideology and LGBTQ indoctrination. Children need to learn to read, write and think, not learn to be a dog, or a cat, or how to have sex through different holes.”
If Terheș were elected president of Romania, he said he would want to push for an investigation into the controversial deal European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed with the CEO of Pfizer regarding Covid vaccines.
“The contract Ursula von der Leyen signed with vaccine manufacturers will be fully published, so we all know what happened during the pandemic,” he stated.
Belgium authorities failed to correct the injustice done to tens of Romanian truck drivers. If these authorities are not corrupt and are not in the pocket of Roland Jost, these human rights violations and severe crimes must be seriously investigated. https://t.co/ascPRMt32i
— Cristian Terhes MEP (@CristianTerhes) October 24, 2023
