Minister-delegate for European Affairs Negrescu: Romania is actively involved in negotiations on future European budget

Minister-delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu on Tuesday participated in Luxembourg in the meeting of the General Affairs Council (GAC), where he underscored that "Romania is actively involved in the negotiations regarding the future European budget," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) informed in a release to AGERPRES. 

"As we are going to hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union soon, we are closely watching the developments at European level and we are prepared to bring our contribution in building a wide consensus with respect to how to approach the current challenges," stated Negrescu. 

Moreover, in his speech, he voiced Romania's support for advancing with the implementation of the cyber security objectives. With respect to the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027, the Minister-delegate showed that the design of the new European budget architecture should offer predictability in reaching the political objectives in the long run of the Union. 

"It is important that the result of this stage of discussions reflect the interests and priorities of all parties, in order to identify the elements based on which Romania can channel its effort during the time when it holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of next year, so that the negotiations could advance substantially. We have the capacity to be active starting with the very first day of our mandate, in order to ensure the prerequisites for reaching a balanced political agreement in what concerns this topic, which is especially important in defining the future of the European Union," pointed out the Minister-delegate for European Affairs. 

The meeting of the ministers for European affairs from the EU member states occasioned a discussions on the negotiations on the new Multiannual Financial Framework, with the officials being presented a report made by the Austrian presidency of the Council of the EU on the current status of examinations of the European Commission's proposals. 

Moreover, the participating ministers reviewed the implementation of the conclusions of the previous European Council and continued with the preparations for the European Council of October 18, 2018, by examining the conclusions draft. 

The European Council this week will focus on migration and internal security and it will be followed by an inclusive Eurozone Summit. 

Romania will be holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union over January 1 - June 30, 2019. The presidency of this forum is held by the member states by rotation, with each term being of 6 months. During the time when Romania exercises its presidency and represents the Council of the European Union in the dialogue with the other EU institutions, especially with the European Commission and the European Parliament, it will also work closely with the President of the European Council as part of the decision making process. 

The rotating presidency ensures the timely management of the European agenda and also the chairing of the sectoral bodies of the Council at all levels (ministerial, embassy and technical levels), except for the Council for Foreign Affairs. The country holding the presidency must play the role of an impartial mediator, while mainly focusing on the presentation of such compromise proposals, capable of leading to the adoption of common positions of the member states.