Romania's president remains cautious, but leaves door open for Board of Peace

Arriving in Brussels for the European Council on January 22, Romanian president Nicușor Dan stated that the transatlantic relationship has returned "to normal parameters," implying Donald Trump's promise not to militarily invade Greenland provides a sense of normality.

"My general message is that we need this transatlantic relationship, Europe and Romania, and that it is very good that following the dialogue, as we anticipated, some escalation has diminished and we have returned to normal parameters," president Dan said, Digi24 reported.

"We are happy to see that the escalation is for the time being, mitigated," said on the same note EP president Roberta Metsola, as quoted by Hotnews.ro. She added that the European Parliament can resume talks on the ratification of the trade agreement with the United States, suspended during the Greenland-linked tensions, which indeed indicates some normalisation.

In line with his past cautious statements, Dan avoided positioning on any of the key topics on the agenda, which would have narrowed his negotiation space. This was at the cost of criticism from those who expected a bolder position.

Asked about president Trump's proposal for Romania to join the Board of Peace, he avoided a direct answer, calling for more analysis of the Board's Charter in relation to the other commitments the country has under international agreements. France already said the Board's Charter contradicts the US charter – therefore, it would not join Donald Trump's organisation for now.

France will not join US president Donald Trump's Board of Peace for now because its charter does not correspond with a UN resolution to resolve the war in Gaza, and some of the charter's elements are allegedly contrary to the UN charter, its foreign ministry spokesman said.

The United Kingdom has said it will not yet join president Trump's proposed Board of Peace, citing concerns over the potential involvement of Russia, the country's foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper said.

Germany also rejected joining the initiative in its current form.

In Bucharest, the analysis continues, but the outcome can not be far from the consensus among the majority of the EU members. So far, only Hungary and Bulgaria, in the region, responded to president Trump's invitation to join the Board of Peace.