SPONSORED CONTENT FROM THE INCOMING ROMANIAN PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EU
#ro2019eu – priorities of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU
View over Bucharest | via The Permanent Representation of Romania to the EU
By the incoming Romanian Presidency of the EU Council
Romania will hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU for the first time since it joined the EU, from January to June 2019. The Romanian Presidency opens the Trio of Presidencies composed also of Finland and Croatia, and it will be the final Presidency acting throughout the current legislative cycle of the European Parliament
Romania is a semi-presidential republic, with the President as Head of State — formerly EPP-affiliated — and the Prime Minister as Head of Government, leading a Social Democrat-ALDE coalition. The current Head of State is Mr. Klaus Werner Iohannis, in office since December 21, 2014, while the current Prime Minister is Ms. Viorica V. Dăncilă, in office since January 29, 2018
Romania has a bicameral parliamentary system. The Senate (upper house) has 136 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (lower house) has 329 seats. Representatives from both chambers are directly elected for 4-year terms
No of seats in the European Parliament: 32
Number of votes in the Council: 14
"I would like to reassure you of Romania's desire to contribute, through our joint efforts, to advancing the European agenda in a constructive and consensual manner… We should use the remaining period, leading up to the Sibiu Summit and the European elections, in order to implement decisions and measures demonstrating the Union's ability to deliver on its promises made to its citizens, as well as to offer a clear perspective for the Union."
President Iohannis, welcoming EP President Tajani in Bucharest in November
Support for the EU remains strong
Romania's new EU Affairs Minister George Ciamba argued in an interview to Politico that domestic political turbulences should be viewed separately from preparations for the Council Presidency, saying the latter is largely in the hands of diplomats and civil servants. "I wouldn't emphasize so much the political situation," he added, arguing that each country has a "vibrant political life."
Minister Ciamba, a career diplomat, took on his new job in mid-November, after the resignation of previous EU Affairs Minister and former MEP, Victor Negrescu. The move came just a few days before a bigger government reshuffle in November that saw the Defense Minister quitting and about a dozen other ministers switching portfolios or entering the Cabinet.
"I am (…) Prime Minister of a state for which the European Union has represented the fulfilment of a national aspiration. Democracy, economic growth and the security that Romania enjoys today represent the incontestable outcome of our European road – a choice we are committed to and which cannot be reversed. We are Europe. The future of Europe means our future, and our contribution to a better and safer world."
Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă
European context
During its presidency, Bucharest will be charged with sealing agreements on a number of key policy issues, before May's European Parliament election — as well as presiding over Britain's departure from the EU. The upcoming months will shape the future of the EU, lengthy negotiations being foreseen on the EU Long Term Budget (the Multiannual Financial Framework) for 2021-2027, by the end of the current legislative mandate. Romania's Presidency will also ensure the transitions at EU institutional level — in particular the next Commission and Parliament — as well as wrap up the debate on the future of Europe, to be concluded with the Europe Day 2019 Summit in Sibiu. Romanian authorities hope that 2019 will relaunch the European project, the same way that, three decades ago, the year 1989 opened up a new chapter for Central and Eastern Europe.
Europe Minister Ciamba explained that the looming European Parliament election means progress in some areas could be limited. But Ciamba also underlined that Romania is pro-Europe, a message Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă also conveyed on December 4 at a conference in Brussels.
Romanian Presidency will focus on four main priorities, under the motto of cohesion, understood as unity, equal treatment and convergence, a Union that leaves no member country and no citizen behind.
Digital transformation will be a highlight of Romania's Presidency. Romania's leap forward in technology is indeed less known. For example, Romania has the fastest broadband internet in the whole EU. Start-ups flourish, supported by government and local authorities, and benefiting from EU funds. Cybersecurity, innovation and skills, women in tech, and Artificial Intelligence will be just some of Romania's digital priorities. Romania will host next year the Startup Europe Summit.
With its high rates of economic growth (6.7 percent in 2017), and a new generation passionate in the latest technologies, some see Romania as the new Silicon Valley. Or "Laser Valey," as French professor Gérard Mourou, Nobel prize-winner for Physics in 2018 has said — who also initiated project ELI-NP (Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics) — developed near Bucharest, in Măgurele.
The long-stalled package of migration measures is "quite a heavy one," Minister Ciamba has also said to Politico. The Romanian Presidency will try to close the migration and asylum files "but the reality is that the useful period of time is not so long," noting that much depends on where the Austrian Presidency leaves things. In addition, Romania feels that it has the moral high-ground on these files, as it has successfully secured an extensive part of the European Union's external borders, without formally being a part of Schengen.
the incoming Romanian Presidency of the EU Council
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Council presidency	Digitalization	Migration	Startups