Romania, "difficult mandate" at EU Council Presidency

Romania will have a difficult mandate, with many legislative initiatives and technical dossiers to complete in the following six months that it will hold the Presidency of the Council of the Union, said, on Friday in a joint press conference in Bucharest, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

They held a joint press conference at the Cotroceni Palace, where the EC President once again declared that there could be no compromise on the rule of law, and a project on amnesty and pardon in the laws of justice would be a step back.

The two also spoke about the EU Summit in Sibiu, scheduled for 9 May 2019, naming it a moment when the European Union will have to give a signal that it is reborn and comes with new strategies after withdrawal of Great Britain.

Romanian Head of State considers that Romania is well prepared for the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and is of the opinion that the next six months will be difficult but interesting, and Romania will achieve the desired results. On the other hand, he said that the rule of law is not a negotiable matter, and added that he would maintain this opinion.

Klaus Iohannis: Discussion on the laws of justice and codes in Romania is a complicated one, that has been going on for two years already and I hope that everyone involved has the wisdom to lead this discussion to an end, in line with the expectations of the Romanians, the expectations expressed by the Venice Commission and the expectations expressed by GRECO.

In turn, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker pleaded for consensus at the level of the political class in Romania, so that Romania’s EU Council Presidency could be a success, as it takes place in a difficult moment for the European Union.

Jean-Claude Juncker: It would be a good idea to have an atmosphere and a spirit of consensus within your country, to enable everyone to move forward. We must not export internal conflicts to Europe, nor can we engage in a meaningless and purposeless polemic because this will lead to many internal and external problems.

Talks at the Cotroceni Palace focused on the important dossiers on the European agenda, such as Brexit, EU Multiannual Financial Framework, migration and neighborhood security.

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei