Today, March 11, and tomorrow, March 12, the minister delegate for European affairs will chair the informal meeting of the ministers and state secretaries for European affairs.
The event enjoys a significant participation of ministers and state secretaries for European affairs representing the Member States in the General Affairs Council, as well as the high level participation of the European Commission, represented by its First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and by Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Günther Oettinger.
The meeting and the events on the margins of the Bucharest meeting will enjoy the participation of ministers representing the EU candidate countries, as well as the participation of several Members of the European Parliament who are invited to take part in a discussion on the Multiannual Financial Framework post 2020.
Today, March 11, the Bucharest event will open with a meeting between the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU and the representatives of the candidate countries. The talks are highly relevant in the light of the importance that the enlargement policy has among the priorities of the Romanian Presidency, as included in the agenda of the General Affairs Council. The meeting will consist in an overview of the reforms made by the candidate countries in support of advancing the discussions in the EU. Following the discussions, the Romanian Presidency will inform the Council and the European Commission in view of the future Enlargement Package, a document that will be published by the European Commission by the end of May.
“The value of cohesion is also reflected on enlargement. That is the reason why the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU considers the EU enlargement a fundamental political priority for the future of united Europe, one that has generated and continues to generate historic results in building a more cohesive, democratic, stable and prosperous European area. The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU intends to prioritise the advancement of this process and work towards achieving positive results in this field by the end of its mandate.”
The agenda for March 12 of the informal meeting of the ministers and state secretaries for European affairs includes debates on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 and on the future Strategic Agenda for the Union, both of them relevant and high-stakes files on the current EU agenda.
The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU selected those topics of discussion considering their strong influence on shaping a strategic vision of the Union for the next period. The proposed debates are circumscribed to the objectives that Romania established at the beginning of the Council Presidency office, both with regard to spurring the dialogue on the future of the European project and to advancing the discussions on the Financial Framework post 2020, in order to facilitate an agreement between the leaders in the autumn of 2019. The aggregation of the next European budget is pivotal in the future of the EU, in the light of its potential to support actions in a wide range of fields, from climate action and cohesion policy to migration, globalisation, employment and the single market, thus contributing to the prosperity of the EU citizens and to the success of the common policies.
The opinion exchange on the future of the Union is placed in the context of the forthcoming European elections and the work in preparation of the Strategic Agenda for the next five years, a document that will include very ambitious topics and that must reflect an adjustment of the EU to the new realities and challenges, in order to build a stronger and more united Europe, one that is able to play a strong role on the global scene. At the same time, the decisions on the Multiannual Financial Framework mirror the political priorities of the Union for the next years, which must be also included in the Strategic Agenda for the Union.
All the discussions are also building on the first stage of the rotational presidency mandate, during which Romania achieved remarkable results in the negotiations on the legislative files, in the co-decision process with the European Parliament, by completing a significant number of legislative files.
“The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is determined to achieve utmost progress in the files of extreme importance for the future of the Union, such as the Multiannual Financial Framework and the future Strategic Agenda. The significant number of ministers attending the Bucharest event is a proof of the interest that the Member States attach to these topics. The discussions taking place during the two days will contribute to strengthening our views on the Strategic Agenda, as well as on our common future”, minister George Ciamba pointed out.