On 5 March, the exhibition “The gold Treasure of the National Bank of Romania sent to Moscow and never returned – A claim older than a century” was opened at the European Parliament in Brussels. The exhibition runs for three days, showcasing written documents, historical and legal evidence as well as the commitments of the Russian and Romanian authorities concerning the 91.5 tonnes of fine gold sent to Moscow.
Given that the issue of the gold reserve seized by the Russian state is not known internationally, the National Bank of Romania Board decided to support the initiative of MEP Eugen Tomac, backed by the group of Romanian MEPs, to bring the matter to the attention of the European institutions. “We cannot remain silent, this issue must be brought to the attention of the European public, and the European institutions should become acquainted with this case,” said Eugen Tomac.
The showcased documents are undeniably attesting that “the NBR Treasure shipped to Moscow, deposited in an allied country, together with all the relevant documents, under an international agreement, acknowledged and validated by history, remains a singular case where the monetary gold reserve was entrusted with all the official documents and depositary guarantees that it would be returned anytime at the owner’s request, only for the depositary to then fail on these obligations, assumed in accordance with all international norms and customs,” said Mugur Isărescu, the NBR Governor.
The situation has remained unchanged to this day, although during the sessions of the Romanian-Russian Commission for the study of issues stemming from the history of bilateral relations, including the issue of Romania’s Treasure, established in 2003, the Russian side acknowledged the sending of the NBR’s gold to Moscow and the validity of the documents submitted by the Romanian side. At this juncture, the works of the Commission have been discontinued.
Numerous MEPs from across the political groups, from Romania as well as from partner countries, attended the opening event of the exhibition.
“Our conclusion is that the National Bank of Romania holds a perfectly valid claim against the State Bank of Russia,” said at the event Cristian Păunescu, adviser to the NBR Governor.
MEP Petras Auštrevičius underlined that closing such chapters of history is not an option since justice has not been done. The former Lithuanian Foreign Minister also said that the Romanian state has been robbed and justice should be restored, whilst this matter must be included in our joint requests to the Russian Federation when the time comes.
“I trust that the Treasure will be repatriated in the not-too-far-off future. The action at the European Parliament may not be decisive, but it is a step towards establishing a framework for the support we expect to receive from the European Union during negotiations with the Russian Federation in order to recover the Treasure,” said former Romanian President Traian Băsescu.
To raise awareness of the situation of the Romanian Treasure in Moscow, the works authored by Cristian Păunescu, i.e. The Romanian National Bank Treasure taken to Moscow and never returned, and by Ilie Schipor, i.e. Romania’s Treasure and its destiny. Arguments from the Russian archives were translated into English and distributed to every MEP.
MEPs Corina Crețu, Maria Grapini, Rovana Plumb, and Vlad Botoș also attended the event.