After Claudiu Târziu's statements, the USCC and other Ukrainian civic organizations ask in a letter the ECR party, led by Giorgia Meloni, to reject the candidacy of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians: "They have the same imperialist visions as the terrorist regime that unleashed on the territory of Europe the biggest war since World War II!"

Several Ukrainian civic organizations, including the "Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center" think tank, announced on Thursday, February 1, that they had sent a letter to the European ECR party, led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, calling for the rejection of the candidacy of the Romanian political party AUR (The Alliance for the Union of Romanians). 

We remind you that, since entering the Parliament, the political party AUR negotiated the affiliation to a European political family both with the ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists) and with the extremist group ID. And in December 2023, AUR President George Simion was invited to give a speech in Rome at an event organized by Italy's main ruling party, Fratelli d'Italia.

However, AUR's path to ECR accession seems to have been jeopardized by the statements made by the president of the National Leadership Council of the party, Senator Claudiu Târziu, who, on January 24, 2024, said that Romania should annex a series of territories from Ukraine, issue highlighted by Ukrainian civic organizations in the letter sent to ECR today. It is worth mentioning in this context the fact that the position of Senator Claudiu Târziu practically contradicts the approach of the ECR leader, Giorgia Meloni, who has unequivocally expressed, repeatedly, her support for Ukraine, and recently led the efforts at European level to convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to stop blocking the substantial financial support package from the EU for Kyiv, in the amount of 50 billion euros.

In a press release, Ukrainian civic organizations point out that "accepting the AUR in the ECR would legitimize a party that has the same imperialist visions as the terrorist regime that started the biggest war in Europe since the end of World War II ".

USCC press release:

"On January 24, 2024, the president of the National Leadership Council of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), Senator Claudiu Târziu, announced the need for the annexation of Ukrainian territories, in particular Bessarabia, Bukovina, and Transcarpathia.

In June 2021, it became known that the Council of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) formalized the candidacy of the party «Alliance for the Union of Romanians” (AUR) as a full member of the Organization. The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) is a European political party with 67 members in the European Parliament and has significant influence on the politics of the European Union.

In this regard, 13 non-governmental organizations in Europe and the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center submitted a joint appeal to the deputies of the European Parliament from the ECR with a request to review the prospects of future cooperation with the AUR.

«The ECR political party was and is involved, at the highest level, in the governmental act of some partner countries that supported Ukraine in the fight against the Russian invaders, and in this sense we are deeply grateful. However, AUR’s membership in the ECR under these conditions would legitimize a party that has exactly the same imperialist visions as the terrorist regime that unleashed the biggest war on European territory since the end of the Second World War. In this context, we reiterate our request to stop cooperation with the AUR party, and thus to reject its candidacy to become a full member of the ECR», commented Serhiy Kuzan, head of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center".

List of signatory organizations: 

- European Congress of Ukrainians

- Associazione “UaMi”  

- PeopleforUkraine ODV-ETS  

- Malve – Ucraini di Ravenna  

- Associazione Insieme Per Ucraina – Organizzazione di Volontariato  

- Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre  

- Organizzazione di volontariato ODV “GROMADA”  

- Associazione Cristiana degli Ucraini in Italia

- Leleka odv Modena

- Associazione “Liberi Oltre Le Illusioni”  

- Malve di Ucraina aps

- Fundacja UNITERS (United Volunteers)

- Związek Ukraińców w Polsce (Association of Ukrainians in Poland)

We present the letter exclusively: