When Joseph Jooris, the Belgian Minister Resident of the Belgian Consulate General in Bucharest at the time of the United Principalities Vallachia and Moldavia handed over his credentials to King Carol I, he mentioned to Brussels that he experienced a joyful moment, consolidating a long lasting partnership. Belgium indeed, already had in the Romanian lands since 1838 a diplomatic representation which in Bucharest switched from a Consulate to a Legation in March 1880. The bilateral relations had until then been a rich and colorful common adventure in political and commercial matters. This not to forget the marriage of Prince Philips of Flanders with Maria of Hohenzollern, the sister of King Carol I in 1867. From 1866 till 1923 and furthermore till December 1947 the Belgian constitutional example included a royal component that equally had given a particular dimension to the bilateral relations before the Second World War. As partners in the European Union and member countries of NATO, Belgium and Romania today not only share the same values, they also show the ambition to outline future policies which include quality of life, rule of law as well as security of their citizens and territory. Every day both countries experience that their European and NATO engagements mean a daily effort of engaging in perfect harmony towards an ever closer partnership.
