MEP Muresan: President Iohannis' speech to EP, Romania's opportunity to present its vision of EU challenges, future

MEP Muresan: President Iohannis' speech to EP, Romania's opportunity to present its vision of EU challenges, future

The speech that Romania's President Klaus Iohannis will deliver on Wednesday to a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg is "an opportunity for Romania to present its vision of the challenges that we have to face, of the progress and future of the European Union," MEP Siegfried Muresan said on Monday.

The moment when the head of state "addresses the European Parliament is an important one," Muresan told a meeting with Romanian journalists at the EP in Strasbourg.

"Several heads of state or government from the European Union have been invited to address the plenary session of Parliament during this legislature. The heads of state or government that we see and will see in the coming weeks, in the last sessions, will be among those with greater weight in the European Council, with greater experience and representing larger member states of the European Union."

Iohannis will address the plenary session of the European Parliament on Wednesday, during the "This is Europe" debate on an invitation received from the president of the EU legislature, Roberta Metsola.

According to the Presidential Administration, on his trip to Strasbourg, Iohannis will also have consultations with Metsola on EU current affairs and priorities for 2024.

In his speech, the Romanian president will unveil his vision of the solutions to the main challenges that the EU is currently facing and will emphasise the joint actions that have to be undertaken to defend and promote the interests of European citizens, as well as their well-being and security.

The "This is Europe" debate series at the European Parliament started in 2022, shortly after the outbreak of the war against Ukraine. In 2022-2023, 12 such meetings with European leaders took place, with the aim being to reaffirm European values and unity, to strengthen the democratic debate on current affairs and to generate a consistent vision regarding the future of the European design.