Crin Antonescu, the leader of the parliamentary delegation of the National Liberal Party, part of the governing alliance, declined to give an official party view on the matter. Instead, he said that "both the party and myself have given proof that we are in favour of recognising sexual minorities. However, personally I am against marriage between people of the same sex". The leader of the Democratic Party, the other large governing coalition member, was similarly elusive, stating that: "Now is not the right moment to talk about this issue marriage. We now have other much more important things to do regarding European integration. Let's integrate firstly, and then we can see the way in which mentalities change. Eventually, we will discuss this issue then". Romania's EU accession took place in January 2007. Liviu Negoiţă, the Democrat Mayor of Bucharest's Sector 3, stated that "if a law will exist same-sex marriage, I will respect it. As a mayor, I don't have any other choice. Personally, I respect the sexual choice of each person". The largest opposition party, the Social Democrats, whose stance on social issues is usually more conservative than that of the governing parties, stated that they would "not initiate and would not support such a legislative proposal". However, the party's official spokesperson also proclaimed that, "a public debate same-sex marriage is necessary, in order to see in what way the standards regarding fundamental liberties can be improved in regard to people with another sexual orientation".