Minister-delegate Negrescu: Romania, Czech Republic are engaged in joint effort for united, cohesive Europe

Romania's Minister-delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu on Tuesday paid a working visit to the Czech Republic, which included meetings with Ales Chmelar, state secretary with the Office of the Czech Prime Minister, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Jakub Durr. 

The Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) says in a press statement that at the meeting with the Czech officials, a number of topics of shared interest on the European agenda were discussed, with emphasis on the state of the European Union, Brexit, the Multi-annual Financial Framework post-2020, internal security and the process of extending the European project. The two parties reiterated their commitment to a common future based on a united, coherent and solid approach to managing the current challenges in support of strengthening the EU profile globally, says MAE. 

"Romania and the Czech Republic are engaged in the joint effort for a united and cohesive Europe that defends its values and principles and works to the interest of the citizens. We agreed to identify together the practical ways in which the constructive attitude of our countries could generate positive results at European level," Negrescu is quoted as saying. 

Negrescu underscored the importance of balanced solutions in the forthcoming negotiations on the Multi-annual Financial Framework post-2020, reflecting both the continued funding of the union's convergence policies and ensuring a coherent response to the new challenges. The parties reaffirmed, in the context, their support for substantial funding of cohesion policy in the future Multi-annual Financial Framework as well, according to MAE. 

The dialogue with the Czech officials also focused on the experience of holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union and the opportunities to strengthen cooperation on this dimension. Negrescu unveiled the recent developments in Romania's preparations for taking over the presidency in the first half of 2019, as well as the subsequent stages entailed in the process. 

"We have a constructive dialogue going on with the Czech Republic and with other members of the European Union that will bring added value to our existing partnerships. We reiterated Romania's desire to benefit from the experience and to use the positive examples of partners that previously held the presidency of the Council of the European Union," said Negrescu. AGERPRES .