Joint press conference Klaus Iohannis, Donald Tusk, Jean-Claude Juncker

EU informal summit in Sibiu: Joint press conference of Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania, Donald Tusk, President of the Council of the European Union, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission:

RADIO ROMANIA NEWS (9 May, 18:22)

President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis: Romania, as the country currently holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and as a Member State deeply attached to consolidation of the European project, has now become the focus of the debate on the future of the European Union. Europe has come to Romania. It is, historically speaking, the first European Council meeting that Romania had the chance to host. Today's discussions have strengthened our conviction that we can write together the future of the European Union. We wished - and now at the end I can say that we have managed to see our wish come true – to have a summit of unity, where we could show our determination to continue to advance the European integration project as an unprecedented project of democracy, prosperity and peace, a project of stability, both inside and out, toward our neighbors. I am glad that a positive, united message of both the Member States and the European institutions is being sent from Romania, to strengthen the European Union on the basis of a clear set of principles and values.

This message of unity resonates in perfect coherence with the motto of Romania’s EU Council Presidency, set on the basis of the principle of cohesion as a European common value. When taking over the rotating EU Presidency, Romania has committed to advance the European project towards a more coherent, cohesive and unitary Europe, both internally, at Member State level, between Member States, at regional level, at local and external level . The unity and cohesion of our action have transformed us into what we are today as a Union, a model of development, democracy, prosperity. We have discussed today in Sibiu about how we want to continue, in which direction we want to further our European construction. We have adopted a political statement, Sibiu Declaration, which I hope will remain an important landmark in the history of the European Union.

According to what we agreed two years ago on the occasion of the celebration in Rome of the 60th anniversary since the signing of the treaties, the most important message of the Sibiu Declaration, I would say the spirit from Sibiu, is the confirmation of our will to continue the European project together. We are thus conveying a message of political will of unitary action on May 9, Europe Day. I congratulate you on Europe Day. I hope with all my heart that this political message will reach as many Europeans as possible and increase citizens’ trust in the strength of EU, with the conviction that the EU is working for them, for the citizens.

Our common principles and objectives set out in the Declaration aim to strengthen the unity of the European Union and have been reflected in our debates on the strategic direction of the Union, on the future strategic agenda we are preparing for adoption at the European Council meeting in June. In a continually evolving European and global context, in Romania's view it is important that the future Strategic Agenda provides a common understanding of the priority objectives that we want to focus on while providing the Union with the flexibility, tools and resources to reach them. We need to provide the tools needed to shape the future of a stronger and more effective Union, based on the unity, solidarity and cohesion of its members, and on the promotion of common European values.

These should be at the heart of future priorities and actions. We want a strategic agenda that reflects an ambitious vision for the future of the European Union, capable of bringing concrete benefits to all European citizens. From this perspective, we believe that the new strategic agenda should focus on promoting a Europe of growth and convergence, strengthening the single market, strengthening the internal security of the European Union and ensuring effective external action. Perhaps the most important thing, we want better communication, more transparent, a more intense and more interactive communication with the European citizens. Thank you.

Donald Tusk, President of the European Council: EU Leaders have clearly demonstrated that they want to assume full political responsibility, not just for certain events or challenges, but for the European Union as a whole. To make it simple, Member States and democratically elected leaders want to actively pave the way the European Union goes on, the way it works and develops. Personally, I am convinced that it is important to think so, and it is desirable to think so in order to ensure the efficient functioning of our community. That is why I wish to maintain the spirit of these discussions during preparation of the European priorities for the coming years and in the process of appointing the new European leaders.

In this context, I would like to say that immediately after the elections for the European Parliament, on 28 May I will convene a reunion of the 28 leaders to start the nomination process. I have the intention of choosing the leaders of the European institutions in a fast and efficient procedure. Naturally, the process will be applied and will respect the rules of the treaties. It will have to reflect geographic and demographic equilibrium, so that both the bigger and the smallest countries will be represented in the highest positions in the European Union. For me, the spirit of the treaties is also important when it comes to such appointment, as are the issues of gender and political balance. Of course, it would be best if we could reach a consensus on these decisions, but we must be realistic.

So if these decisions will be difficult to achieve, then we will vote for these appointments. The aim is simple: we need efficient institutions, so we need quick decisions and my intention is to make these appointments to the European Council in June. And I call on everyone involved to take responsibility for doing so. I would like to mention here the intervention of Mr Anastasiades in connection with Turkey drilling on the territory of Cyprus and I must say that we expect Turkey to respect the rights of sovereign states. The European Council will closely follow these developments. Let me finish in Romanian. I would like to thank President Iohannis for organizing and hosting the Summit in Sibiu. When I met him in January at the start of the Romanian EU Council Presidency, I spoke out of my heart about Romania, because I am convinced that you are remarkable. You held an exceptional summit. You can be proud of the work you’ve done, just as Europe is proud of you. I just fell in love with Sibiu. All of Europe has fallen in love with you. Thank you.

Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission: We want everyone to fall in love with Sibiu and see that you have responded to my call in an exemplary way. The European Council of today was one of the easiest I was given to participate; first of all, because the Romanian Presidency and, in particular, President Klaus Iohannis prepared the reunion in the best possible conditions, but also because we had no pressure to make an urgent decision. That's why we were able to talk without being too hasty. This European Council has shown us that we can be united for real. As we have been able to act together in recent years.

It is often said that the European Union did not know how to meet the expectations, but we have over 300,000 directives and regulations proposed by the European Commission and 80% of them have always been adopted unanimously. So, the European Union is not in crisis, if it succeeds in unanimously adopting over 80% of the proposed decisions between the two co-legislators. Of course, more could have been done if the European institutions were able to present all seven European Commission proposals on the asylum system in 2017. Then the balance would have been even more impressive. We could say that the key is there, except for the essential parts that are missing, so to speak, but what we have not yet done is to hopefully be achieved in the second half of the year, after the elections for the European Parliament, which, of course, are particularly important (…).

Source:RADOR.Translated by Miruna Matei