Minister Negrescu: Citizen is our priority in exercising presidency of EU Council

Citizen is the priority of Romania in exercising the presidency of the Council of the European Union in two years' time, Minister Delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu told Thursday's debate on "EU Trade Policy. Challenges and Priorities," organized by the European Institute of Romania, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Faculty of International Economic Relations of the Bucharest Economics Academy. 

"It is the duty of each of us to participate in the European decision-making process, in the way our country expresses itself in Europe, in how we conceive our country's strategy at European level, in how we act," the minister said. 

Moreover, Negrescu stressed that, in this context, "we should talk about more integration, about more unity, about more solidarity - essential concepts, concepts that are related (...) to what the essence of the European Union means." 

"We can talk today about the need to re-build Europe, to re-found the European Union. As some decision-makers have said, Romania may be even part of this new process of re-founding the European Union and Romania assumes this," Negrescu added. 

Victor Negrescu also spoke about the need to increase administrative capacity in Romania. "It is pointless for us to want to be a strong country if we cannot be a strong country at European level," Negrescu pointed out. 

In the year when Romania will hold the presidency, he reminded, on May 9 there will be the special summit in Sibiu that will decide "the strategic agenda of the European Union by 2024." 

Negrescu talked also about the possible accession of Romania to the Eurozone and the need to consult all those involved in drawing up a European convergence instrument.AGERPRES .