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Present at the European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, President Klaus Iohannis said that Romania could accept the European Commission's proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under certain conditions, according to AGERPRES.
European leaders discussed the future of the EU-UK relationship, climate change, EU coordination in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, EU-Africa relations, developments in the Union's eastern neighborhood, with a focus on Belarus and the case of Navalny, as well as the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
"President Klaus Iohannis stressed that the European Commission's proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is a very ambitious one, and it could be accepted by Romania, under certain conditions. In this regard, the President of Romania mentioned that achieving this target will depend on the establishment of support mechanisms and flexibilities tailored to the needs and specificities of the Member States. Furthermore, previous decarbonisation efforts must be considered, as well as development discrepancies between Member States, so that sharing the efforts at the Union's level be carried out in an equitable manner," the Presidential Administration shows, in a press release sent to AGERPRES.
According to the quoted source, the head of state reaffirmed the importance of the EU ensuring the financing of actions in the field of climate change, especially on the basis of new tools dedicated to economic recovery, depending on the priorities of each Member State.
He pointed out that in order to ensure the proper implementation of the new commitments, some essential conditions must be observed, the first of which refers to the fact that the way to reach the new targets must be decided at national level, given that there is no single solution applicable to all Member States.
President Iohannis said it is important to maintain a flexible framework that would allow all countries in the Union to identify the most appropriate solutions to help achieve new goals in the field.
The head of state reiterated that the establishment of the energy mix must remain a national competence, a context in which it is necessary to adapt, at national level, the measures to comply with the new climate change goals.
Discussions on climate change were based on the EC proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% in the Union by the end of 2030 compared to 1990. The conclusions adopted by European leaders on this topic refer to the fact that all Member States of the Union must participate in the collective effort to achieve this goal, taking into account national circumstances and the principles of fairness and solidarity. In this context, the European Council invited the EC to have an in-depth dialogue with the Member States of the Union in order to assess the specific situations and the impact at national level.
The European Council reiterated the importance of the full implementation of the UK Withdrawal Agreement from the EU and called on the Member States of the Union, the European institutions and all actors involved to step up preparations for the end of the transition period, including the no-deal scenario.
"The President of Romania expressed regret that the progress in the negotiations is not enough at the moment to conclude an agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom. President Klaus Iohannis said that Romania wishes to speed up the process for concluding an agreement, which must remain the Union's goal. However, the President of Romania reiterated the need to maintain EU unity based on the principles and objectives assumed, emphasizing, at the same time, the importance of pursuing the full implementation of the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement. In this context, President Klaus Iohannis pointed out that Romania is continuing its internal preparations for the changes that will take place at the end of the transition period, which ends on December 31, 2020," the Presidential Administration states.
As concerns the EU relations with Africa, President Klaus Iohannis stated that Romania supports the strengthening of the relations with Africa and building a stronger partnership, based on common priorities and interests, and said that the EU-African Union Summit in December should focus on concrete results, and the next period should be used to identify and agree on objectives of common interest.
