George Ciamba, Michel Barnier discuss current stage of Brexit process

Minister-delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba had a meeting with European Chief Negotiator on Brexit Michel Barnier on Thursday, the two analyzing the current state of the Brexit process 15 days before the expected date of Britain's withdrawal from the EU, following the latest developments marked by the negative outcome of the British Parliament vote on the Withdrawal Agreement. "The Minister-delegate for European Affairs has brought to the attention of the chief negotiator of the European Union the importance of ensuring the rights of the Romanian citizens in the United Kingdom, in the context of a no-deal Brexit. The Romanian official informed that this is a priority for the Romanian Government. He mentioned that the Executive in Bucharest takes care that the rights of British citizens in Romania are respected," a statement released by the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) informs. The two dignitaries have stressed that the European Union has made every possible effort to conclude the Withdrawal Agreement in time, stating that at this moment it awaits concrete proposals from the Government and Parliament of the United Kingdom on the plans it is considering to overcome the current deadlock. The two officials reiterated the EU's common position that the negotiated Withdrawal Agreement is the only possible agreement and the best tool to limit the impact of the Brexit process. Minister-delegate George Ciamba specified that the risk of a no-deal disorderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU on March 29 is increasingly higher, even though none of the parties wants it to materialize. In this respect, the Romanian official has shown that it is essential to move forward in an accelerated manner with regard to the adoption of all contingency measures by the European Union, but also by the Member States, to ensure that they are prepared for any scenario. The Minister-delegate specified that a possible extension of the withdrawal deadline can be taken into account by the European Council following an official request from the British Government. "The Romanian dignitary assured the chief negotiator of Romania's full support at this final stage of the Brexit process, especially from the perspective of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Michel Barnier also appreciated the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU as one of the best, welcoming the results obtained in a short time," MAE points out.AGERPRES(RO - editor: Antonia Nita; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Maria Voican)