Negrescu: 'Romania grants high importance to attending European Semester and wants to boost dialogue, cooperation with EC'

"Romania recognizes the importance of the European Semester and has in mind boosting dialogue and cooperation with the European Commission within this process. In this regard, we have prioritised, ever since taking over the mandate, the transparency and strengthening of the consultation process at national level, through the debates that we organised and the technical work formats, which bring together representatives of the social partners and the central public administration," the Minister-delegate for European Affairs said in a release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) sent to AGERPRE. 

The Minister-delegate mentioned the boosting of dialogue with the relevant national interested parties as of 2017. In this respect, MAE organised two public events, four high level meetings and also meetings at the level of the thematic working groups. From the perspective of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the official specified that our country's objective is for the European Semester 2019 to unfold according to the roadmap to be presented this November at the General Affairs Council. 

In his speech, Minister-delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu highlighted the fact that, as national coordinator for the "Europe 2020" Strategy and for the European Affairs area, MAE cooperates with more than 30 national institutions on topics related to the European Semester. Moreover, with the support of the relevant public authorities, the Ministry drafts the National Reform Programme of Romania on an annual basis. 

According to the same release, the mission of the European Commission takes place in the context of the preparations of the country report on Romania, which will be published in February next year. The European Commission's delegation for this working mission included more than 30 representatives of more than ten general directorates and structures of the institution. During this mission, for three days (October 23-25 2018), a series of meetings will be held with the representatives of the central public authorities, as well as with representatives of other players involved in the process. 

The event brought together representatives of the European Commission and central public authorities, who will attend the meetings in the coming days. 

MAE specified that the European Semester, introduced in 2010, represents the process of annual coordination of economic policies of the EU member states, being shaped around the following objectives: solid public finances, support of structural reforms and stimulating investments. During the European Semester, the European Commission is in permanent dialogue with the authorities of the member states, in order to monitor the manner of implementation of these policies.

AGERPRES