EP calls on Russia to return Romanian national treasure appropriated during WWI

Romania’s national treasure was transferred to the tsarist Russian Empire during the First World War in order to be protected, but was never returned in its entirety, the European Parliament said in a press release.

“This is an unprecedented international case of illegal appropriation of gold reserves and heritage objects, representing a permanent concern for the Romanian society,” MEPs were quoted as saying.

The Romanian treasure includes 91.5 tonnes of pure gold constituting the reserves of Romania’s central bank at the time, along with other historical and cultural valuables, Romanian MEP Eugen Tomac said, as seen in a recording of the debate preceding the vote on the resolution.

The MEPs urged the European Commission and the European External Action Service to prioritise the return of the Romanian national treasure in future EU-Russia diplomatic talks, pending the resumption of political dialogue between the two parties.

The resolution, which is the first official European document through which Romania is explicitly requesting the return of its illegally seized treasure, was adopted by a wide majority of votes, Tomac later said in a social media post.