In Berlin, Romania's Minister-delegate Ciamba discusses priority themes of Romanian EU Council presidency

Romania's Minister-delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba attended the sixth edition of the German-Romanian roundtable conference in Berlin on Thursday called "Strengthening the European Union in turbulent times. Germany's and Romania's visions," as a speaker in the panel "Challenges and opportunities under Romania's presidency of the EU Council."

The event was organised by the European Institute of Romania, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation and the German Institute for International Affairs and Security.

The debate focused on current affairs on the European agenda that are relevant to the incoming Romanian presidency of the EU Council. The Romanian official highlighted Romania's interest in ensuring a successful tenure, in close co-operation with the other member states and the European institutions, to advance the European agenda in a consensual and effective manner, to the benefit of European citizens.

Romania's Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) says in a press statement that the main themes and the main dimensions of the programme of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council were presented, with emphasis on objectives that secure cohesion Europewide.

Ciamba also reiterated Romania's commitment to active participation in efforts to strengthen the European design.

He welcomed the technical consensus reached between the EU and the UK on the final version of the text of the UK's withdrawal agreement. The agreement will guarantee the protection of the rights of all Romanian citizens settled in the UK as by December 31, 2020. They will be able to continue working, living and studying in the UK on the basis of a new settled status. He expressed hope that the agreement would be approved by the British Parliament in the form agreed by both parties.

About the future Multi-annual Financial Framework, discussions highlighted the importance of this topic in the development of the European design in the coming years, with the Romanian side advocating for a budget of the European Union equally modern and balanced, capable of supporting the management of the current challenges, the EU's development and convergence objectives.

The continuation of the EU enlargement process to include the Western Balkans was also discussed, with Ciamba emphasising the attention that will be given to this issue during Romania's presidency of the EU Council, and reiterating the need to maintain EU engagement in the region for peacebuilding, security, prosperity and stability.

On the side-lines of the event, Ciamba met Uwe Corsepius, European affairs adviser to Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, with whom he exchanged views on Romania's EU Council presidency as well as the organization of the EU summit in Sibiu, to be held on May 9, 2019 as a milestone in the debate on the future of Europe. The discussion also covered the specific dynamics of the EU Council formats during the presidency of the EU Council. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)

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