President of the European Union

UPDATED 22:09

Bucharest, Jan 10 /Agerpres/ - "In Romania I feel like at home," said, on Thursday evening, in Bucharest, the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, at the inauguration ceremony of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union at the Romanian Athenaeum.

Romania marks on Thursday its taking over the presidency of the Council of the European Union through a ceremony organised at the Romanian Athenaeum, to be attended by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and Romania's Prime Minister Viorica Dancila.

The ruling PSD (Social Democrat Party, ed. n.) leaders have reacted on Saturday night to the statements made by the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker regarding to what degree Romania is ready to take over the presidency of the EU Council, asserting that actually the guilty for the stalemates among the state institutions is president Klaus Iohannis.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis admitted last month his country was not ready to assume the six-month EU presidency. EU officials allege Romania is not taking steps to fight corruption and uphold judicial independence, reported DW. 

Bucharest, Dec 29 /Agerpres/ - The visit of Jean-Claude Juncker to Bucharest, alongside the College of Commissioners and a concert at the Athenaeum will mark on 10 January the taking over of the presidency of the EU Council, informs the website www.romania2019.eu, dedicated to the Romanian presidency and officially launched on Friday.

The President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, expressed condolences for the victims in Strasbourg. "I mourn about the victims of the Strasbourg attack," wrote Antonio Tajani in Twitter. ''We will not back down! We will defeat terrorism and those who want to attack our way of life. The European Parliament continues to work'', he said.

Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May launched a tour of European capitals on Tuesday in a desperate bid to salvage her Brexit deal, a day after delaying a parliamentary vote on the text to avoid a crushing defeat, reports AFP. 

Prime Minister Viorica Dancila announced on Wednesday that the final program form of the presidency of the Council of the European Union will be voted shortly in the Romanian Parliament.

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.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, whose country holds the EU presidency, has intervened in the acrimonious debate on migration by saying the EU must "close its borders" to those who do not use authorised checkpoints.