BELGIUM-EU-ROMANIA-ROMPUY-PONTA

EU Council president Herman Van Rompuy (R) welcomes Prime Minister of Romania Victor Ponta (L) prior to their working session on February 4, 2013 at the EU Headquarters in Brussels. The EU and Romania have been at loggerheads for months over the assimilation of Bucharest into the bloc's political culture, but Ponta -- a former prosecutor -- said he had assured European Commission head Jose Manuel "that Romania is right now a much more stable and predictable country ... a country which respects all the European standards." AFP PHOTO GEORGES GOBET (Photo credit should read GEORGES GOBET/AFP via Getty Images)