Official Ciamba: We want to revive European integration project, in a moment when EU is facing a series of difficulties

Minister-delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba on Tuesday stated that there is need of a "revival of the European integration project," in a moment when the EU is facing a series of difficulties. He spoke about the conclusion of the Interparliamentary Conference on the Future of the European Union, organised at the Parliament Palace on Monday and Tuesday as part of the mandate of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union. "What we want is to revive the European integration project, in a moment when the Union is facing a series of difficulties, among which the Brexit, which is a traumatic experience for the entire European Union," said Ciamba. He also added that, in dealing with such challenges, "the only viable answers remain unity and cohesion." The Minister-delegate also spoke about the joint statement adopted at the end of this conference. "Your contribution, reflected in the statement that you adopted on this occasion, to a stronger, more cohesive European Union, more comprehensive and more relevant globally, reaches key-aspects for the functioning of the European project," he pointed out. Moreover, the Minister underscored that the key-words in the statement were "cohesion, inclusiveness, strength at home and external credibility." According to Ciamba, "the global role of the EU must start in the vicinity." "The expansion policy, the European neighbouring policy are key-instruments for the actions taken by the European Union and they must reflect in the configuration of the next strategic period. (...) The enlargement policy - and I mean here the Western Balkans, I mean Turkey and the Eastern Vicinity - remain of a strategic important for the Union and the aspiring states both," he said. The Minister-delegate also spoke about the transatlantic relation: "The transatlantic relation is a priority topic in the discussions related to the future of the Union, and Romania, while holding the presidency of the Council of the EU, will continue to pursue the desideratum of strengthening this partnership." "The Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union conceived its working programme around the cohesion value, seen as a principle that will guide our steps in the political field and also in the economic field, and in the social one. (...) The projection of the future multiannual framework post 2020 is a major priority of the Romanian Presidency. It is essential to ensure a balance between the policies that generate growth and convergence and that can offer adequate answers and solutions to the future challenges," he explained. According to Ciamba, considering Romania's objective to enter Eurozone, it is important to support the efforts for building a solid and efficient economic and monetary union, facilitating this the integration process." Minister-delegate for European Affairs also brought to mind that the Romanian presidency succeeded in closing "an impressive number of files." "We believe that, in a way, we left our mark on how the economy will look in the next years, on the manner in which the European citizens will perceive the support that they need to grant through regulations to the European Union in terms of the labour conditions and strategic decisions, and I mean here the Gas Directive, in terms of the taxation policies - the Directive on Copyright in the digital space," said George Ciamba. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Cristina Zaharia, editor: Adina Panaitescu)