Minister Delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba attended today, February 13, 2019, the second day of the plenary session debates of the European Parliament in Strasbourg where he took the floor several times in his capacity of representative of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The Romanian official presented the position of the Council of the EU in the debates on the topic of “Fair taxation for a fair society”. In this context, George Ciamba underlined that it was necessary to have an honest debate on tax matters. He emphasised the need to fight against fiscal evasion and ensure fair tax systems in the member states. The minister delegate pointed out the importance of the social dimension of the taxation policy. He showed confident that the European Parliament would keep on making a robust contribution to this field. “Some may say that the EU could do more in the field of taxation, but I would like to remind the advances we have made in this field in the past few years and to assure you that the Romanian presidency will continue to work in this field”, the minister delegate for European affairs pointed in his speech.
Today also, the minister delegate spoke on behalf of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission Frederica Mogherini in a debate on the future of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). He underlined the EU and the member states’ support for the Treaty, which stays an essential benchmark in the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and disarmament. The minister pointed out the major contribution of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty to international peace, security and stability in the last 30 years, expressed the hope that it could still be saved and urged all the parties to commit to dialogue, since arms control is crucial to collective security. In answer to the questions asked by the members of the European Parliament, the minister delegate stressed the actions of the EU towards supporting and implementing the INF Treaty, including the EU Statement of October 18 in the UN First Committee calling on Russian Federation to act towards compliance with the INF Treaty in a substantial and transparent way. The minister also reiterated the defensive component of the anti-missile systems in Romania and Poland, as well as the complete transparency in the process of mounting the system’s components. He voiced concerns at the rising threat and the accumulation of weapons at the external border of the Union.
Also, in his capacity of representative of the Council of the EU, Minister George Ciamba signed a number of items of legislation.
In his capacity of representative of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Romanian dignitary also took part in two political meetings regarding two non-legislative institutional files that
would be subject to further discussion in the next period. As for the Interinstitutional agreement on a mandatory Transparency Register, the three institutions agreed on a public declaration expressing the commitment to continue negotiations with a view to reaching an agreement.