The EPP Congress has started in Bucharest

More than 2.000 delegates from 44 member countries, including the President of the European Parliament, the head of the European Commission, heads of state and government, and other officials from the European People's Party family are meeting at the congress in Bucharest. The European People's Party will adopt its strategy for the European Parliament elections in June and officially nominate its candidate for the European Commission.

In the run-up to the event, the issue of bridging the gap between countries and cities and, in this context, cooperation between MEPs and local politicians was discussed.

The local, national and European dimension of the PNL, and therefore of the EPP, is extremely important in the context of growing extremism, said this morning the mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Emil Boc.

Extremism is the political force that can endanger the democratic future of Europe, he said, adding that every effort must be made to keep extremism out of the fundamental democratic process.

Emil Boc: Europe's mayors have shown they can keep extremism out. You will not find, with rare exceptions, mayors or presidents of county councils with extremist leanings. Mayors are the key, after all, to a democratic future for Europe, and the European People's Party has understood this and has made it a priority to work together at local, national and European level.

The EPP is a supporter of the rural environment, said MEP Siegfried Muresan, who stressed that in order to make the best decisions for European citizens, we must listen to them and to their elected representatives: mayors and councillors. The EPP is campaigning to reduce the gap between village and town, said MEP Siegfried Muresan, who believes that the mayors are the main weapon against populist discourse.

Siegfried Muresan: Close cooperation between local elected representatives and MEPs is the best tool to fight extremism, populism in the European Union. At local level, it is very clear that pro-European mayors from the centre-right are the ones who have solutions, who can attract European funds and develop local communities.

From 14:00 the EPP plenary session has begun, adopting the strategy for the June European elections, the election manifesto as the basis for the party's political programme for the next five years, and officially nominating Ursula von der Leyen as candidate for President of the European Commission.

President Klaus Iohannis: Meetings with several senior EU officials

President Klaus Iohannis speaks today with several European officials on the sidelines of the EPP Congress in the capital. The main topic is Romania's land accession to Schengen.

Reporter: Oana Bala - Starting at 10:00, President Klaus Iohannis had hourly meetings scheduled with several senior European officials, who came to Bucharest to attend the congress of the European People's Party.

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was the first to arrive at the Cotroceni Palace.

She leads the European People's Party list in the June European Parliament elections and is running for a new five-year term at the head of the EU executive.

The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, was also received by the head of state, as were the prime ministers of Luxembourg and Lithuania.

Discussions focused on Romania's European priorities, in the context of maintaining the unity and solidarity of the European Union after the June elections.

They also discussed the threats posed by the Russian Federation and the need for Romania to fully join the Schengen area.

President Klaus Iohannis' meetings with various European officials will continue until tonight.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer is also coming to the meeting of the European People's Party and is expected to meet the President, as Austria is in no hurry to take a decision on the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the free movement area.

Translated by: Radu Matei