Berlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier described Monday a policy of "eastern partnership" underpinning the European Union's discussions over financial aid for Eastern Europe.

This policy, Steinmeier said at a meeting with his Romanian counterpart Cristian Diaconescu, was aimed at providing "economic and political support" to the countries of Eastern Europe.

Steinmeier said Germany's position as a heavily export-oriented industry meant the country had "an interest, not just in political but in economic stability in the eastern European Union (EU) states."

The German foreign minister said the EU was "still in discussion about the financial underpinning of the eastern partnership," adding that state aid was being evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

If Romania weren't to receive financial assistance from the EU, Steinmeier said, this could be because "Romania is in fact in a better position than others."

Steinmeier praised Romania's "ambitious budgetary policies" which were keeping debt and inflation low, and which he said were "surely the right policies" to counter the financial crisis.

Diaconescu said the EU's solidarity encompassed far more than financial aid alone. "It's about the broad promotion of investments, and the removal of the appearance of protectionism concerning the markets," the Romanian foreign minister said.

At the meeting, Diaconescu also expressed thanks for Germany's involvement in the Nabucco pipeline project, intended to carry gas from Central Asia to Europe, bypassing Russia as a middleman. (dpa)