Bucharest, Sept 6 /Agerpres/ - The implications of the Georgian crisis for the European Union's common foreign and security policy and the ways for an increased involvement of the EU in Georgia, mainly in terms of humanitarian aid, reconstruction and conflict regulation based on the conclusions of the extraordinary European Council on September 1, were the main topics for discussion at the informal meeting (Gymnich) of the EU foreign ministers held in Avignon, on September 5 and 6.

According to a release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Lazar Comanescu said at the meeting that the EU had to further act to maintain its role of protagonist in solving the Georgian crisis.

'In order to strengthen the EU role as key-player in the region, we must look beyond Georgia and focus our efforts on some mechanisms able to prevent similar crisis at the Union's borders. For this reason, the EU has to settle a pro-active approach for the resolving of the frozen conflicts in the region,' Lazar Comanescu underscored.

He underlined the 'unfreezing of the frozen conflict in the Caucasus,' which, in his opinion, 'is an alarm signal for the situation in the Republic of Moldova's separatist region.'

'Romania is interested in a regulation that should observe the sovereignty and integrity of the Republic of Moldova, decided in the established form of 5 + 2,' the ForMin said.

He highlighted the need for some committing messages from the EU, in support of the Republic of Moldova's European bid, also through some high level contacts between Brussels and Kishinev over the next period.

Also approached during the two-day meeting were the transatlantic relation, the proposals regarding the adaptation of the the European security strategy and the situation of the peace process in the Middle East, along with the EU's involvement in the region, the release reads.

Minister Comanescu said that, given that evolutions like those in Georgia highlight the concrete security risks directly affecting the Euro-Atlantic space, it is natural that both sides should deploy efforts to strengthen the transatlantic ties even more.

Held every six months, Gymnich meetings take their name from the German castle where the first informal EU foreign ministers' meeting hosted by Germany, took place in 1974. These meetings are informal in that participants engage in free and in-depth discussion on a limited number of subjects, but they do not draw up any formal conclusions. Many current international affairs may be raised and thus European policy for the coming months more effectively prepared.

[Source: Romanian National News Agency AGERPRES ]