European Council

EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) aid worth €34 million, to help reconstruction in Greece, Poland, Lithuania and Bulgaria after natural disasters in 2017, has been approved by MEPs.

Romania is ready to host an informal summit of heads of state or government of the European Union on May 9, 2019, and "the Romanian government is making the necessary efforts to make the event a success," Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) said Thursday in a press statement.

Preparing for and assuming the presidency of the Council of the European Union is a priority with the government of Romania, said Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, who started meetings with the members of her cabinet on Monday to agree on the details of each portfolio.

The European Parliament's Budgets Committee on August 29 approved the European Union's Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to support reconstruction in Greece, Poland, Lithuania and Bulgaria following natural disasters in 2017.

Minister-delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu on Thursday underscored the importance of interinstitutional co-operation and the participation of all relevant players in the internal processes of defining Romania's official positions in the field of European affairs in order to ensure the success of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019.

Romania is successfully conducting the Council of the European Union's shadow presidency, according to Romania's Minister-delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu, who at a weekly meeting of the Coordination Council of the National European Affairs Management System on Wednesday reviewed the latest developments in the process of preparing Romania for holding the EU Council

Greek Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs George Katrougalos (l) and German minister of state for Europe Michael Roth at the start of EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting at the European Council in Brussels, Monday. [EPA]

AGERPRES special correspondent to Brussels, Belgium, Madalina Cerban reports:

At the European Council meeting in Brussels on Friday, Romania's President Klaus Iohannis reaffirmed support for the implementation of the Digital Single Market objectives.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov will participate in the regular European Council meeting on 28 and 29 June in Brussels.

With Bulgarian Minister of the Interior Valentin Radev as Chair, the ministers of the interior of the EU Member States today took stock of the progress made by the Bulgarian Presidency on the reform of the Common European Asylum System.