Informal Meeting of EU Ministers for EU Affairs: Bucharest, 11-12 March

EU Ministers for European Affairs will have an informal meeting in Bucharest on 11-12 March, in the context of Romanian EU Council Presidency. Event will be held at Palace of National Bank of Romania (NBR) and will be hosted and chaired by Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs, George Ciamba.

Informal meeting of the General Affairs Council is to enjoy participation of ministers and state secretaries for European affairs from EU Member States, as well of European Commission First Vice-President for Better Regulation, Interinstitutional Relations, Rule of Law and Charter of Fundamental Rights, Frans Timmermans, of Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, Günther Oettinger and of several representatives of the General Secretariat of the Council.

On the margins of the meeting, on March 11, 2019, Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU will organise at the National Museum of Art of Romania an informal meeting attended by representatives of the candidate countries (Albania, Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey), along with participation of representatives of the European Commission.

On Tuesday, March 12, 2019, informal meeting of Ministers for European Affairs will include a debate on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027, a flagship file for the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Second working session will focus on future of Europe, emphasising key priorities that should guide the activity of the EU for the next five years, in preparation of the new EU Strategic Agenda.

Agenda of informal meeting of the Ministers for European Affairs:

Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027

Future EU multiannual budget will have to provide the EU with the necessary resources for reaching its objectives for the next seven years, while striking a balance between policies generating growth and convergence and the need to respond to new challenges. At the Bucharest meeting, ministers and state secretaries for European affairs, together with representatives of European institutions, will debate on the future Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027, with the aim of contributing to stimulating timely advancement of negotiations, in accordance with European Council conclusions of December 2018. Objective of Romanian EU Council is to continue such discussions at a dynamic pace, with a view to facilitating political agreement in this file in the autumn of 2019.

Future of the EU, including from the perspective of shaping new EU Strategic Agenda

Bucharest debates are intended to offer the adequate framework for a comprehensive reflection on key priorities that should be reflected in the definition of EU’s strategic priorities for the next five years, building on the outcomes of implementing the Strategic Agenda for the Union of June 2014. Talks in Bucharest are particularly welcomed in view of the debates that will take place in the informal Summit that Romania will host in Sibiu on May 9, 2019, in preparation of the adoption, at the European Council of June 2019, of the fundamental directions of future EU Strategic Agenda for 2019-2024, corresponding to new institutional cycle after the European elections of May 2019. Objective of Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU is to create preconditions required for continuing to develop the European project in an inclusive, unitary, consensual and result-oriented way, through the collective action of the Member States and the European institutions.

Source:Romania2019.eu