Minister Delegate Negrescu: Romania, Austria work together to ensure continuity at Presidency of EU Council

Romania and Austria are working together to ensure continuity at the level of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, said Minister Delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu, who paid a working visit to Vienna on Tuesday, according to a Foreign Ministry (MAE) press release for AGERPRES. 

The Romanian official had a meeting with Alexander Schallenberg, Coordinator of the Austrian Presidency at the EU Council within the Federal Chancellery, with whom he had an exchange of views and good practices on the exercise of the rotating presidency at the EU Council and the obtaining of the Austrian side's evaluation on the state and developments expected on files such as the Multi-Annual Financial Framework post-2020, Brexit, respectively the topics related to internal security and migration. 

According to MAE, Victor Negrescu welcomed the good cooperation between the two parties in the context in which Romania began to exert, from July 1, the shadow presidency's attributions with Austria's Presidency of the EU Council, through the commitment to follow the negotiation process, especially at trialogue level with the European Parliament and the European Commission. In this respect, two temporary positions were created at the Embassy of Romania to Austria, with support from a member of the "EU Diplomat" network, which was re-launched this year. 

"The common aim of our successive mandates at the Council of the European Union is to contribute to the promotion of a European agenda based on unity, cohesion and inclusion. Therefore, cooperation with the Austrian Presidency is essential in terms of the process of reflection on the directions of evolution of the European policies, and in order to calibrate the objectives and the level of ambition that Romania will set for their own work program according to the progress and results of our partners," Negrescu said. 

At the same time, they tackled the opportunities for joint promotion of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region in the context of Romania's holding the presidency for a period of one year starting from 1 November, as well as the fact that Romania ensures, in partnership with Austria, the secretariat. 

"I am glad that Romania and Austria, as co-initiators of the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region, continue to fully engage in its effective implementation. We are fully aware of the potential of macro-regions to inspire economic, social and territorial convergence between the participating states and we want this form of regional collaboration to have a continuous development in the next period," Negrescu said. 

During the visit, he gave a speech on "The Future of Europe: Is There a Way to Continue Together?" at the international conference "Generation Next", organized by the Aspen Institute, in collaboration with the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna.