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The vision of Romania's Presidency at the EU Council on the European project is structured around the idea of cohesion as a European common value inflected in all its dimensions, political cohesion illustrated by the need for unity among member states, economic and territorial cohesion aimed at reducing the development gaps among member states and regions, social cohesion, important through the perspective of preserving the four freedoms of the domestic market of the European Union, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said in Strasbourg on Tuesday, presenting Romania's priorities for the EU Council Presidency before the European Parliament plenary session.
"This accepted meaning of the concept of cohesion is transposed of a transversal manner within our thematic priorities divided in four main action pillars - Europe of convergence, Europe of security, Europe - a global player, and Europe of common values," the Romanian PM said.
According to her, Europe has always known to overcome obstacles and be reborn after the less fortunate episodes of history and the European project itself in its current form has been shaped by the multiple crises it went through. "Today we are again facing a complex moment of the process of European construction. However, as you very well know, any situation of this kind can be turned into an opportunity, in a new beginning," Dancila went on.
The first action pillar of the Romanian Presidency at the EU Council is "Europe of convergence," which is aimed at ensuring economic growth, social development, reducing gaps, competitiveness, connectivity and sustainability. "The single market is, of course, the greatest achievement of the Union, the nucleus of the European construction. As such, one of the objectives of Romania's Presidency is to promote the legislative agenda in the domestic market area, in view to finalise the necessary framework for a good functioning. We must consolidate the scientific and technological foundation of European industry, through which we can stimulate our competitiveness on an international level, and, at the same time, we can generate economic growth and jobs. We shall continue to promote digitisation, including in the area of European industry. The digital progress has already been promoted by the previous presidencies, Estonian and Austrian, of the EU Council, and we'll seek, in our turn, to continue to work at the same high pace," the Romanian PM said.
Viorica Dancila mentioned that the Romanian Presidency at the EU Council will have in view the development of the functional connections between the East and the West, between the North and the South, meant to facilitate all kinds of connections, for making operational the four freedoms of movement and for increasing the competitiveness of the European economic and the standard of living in the less developed regions. "I was telling you about the need for a long-term policy in the industrial area, and as important is the Energy Union regulation. These two themes will take a significant spot on our presidency's agenda," the head of the Government in Bucharest said.
The second pillar of the Romanian Presidency at the EU Council will be represented by "Europe of convergence," said the Romanian PM in the EP plenary session. "We are facing some security challenges threatening the citizen's security. The European Union is confronted with a wide range of risks and threats that can undermine the values and prosperity of our open societies. In a world of fast-paced digitisation, we must advance in respect to protecting the citizens in the virtual space. It is necessary to consolidate the resilience of the Union to cyber attacks. Therefore, cyber security will represent a mandatory requirement for any project referring to the information society," she mentioned.
Another aspect referring to the EU security, which Romania, as EU Council Presidency, will grant attention to will be, according to Dancila, the negotiation and completion of the initiatives on the coherent management of migration flows, the EU's external borders strengthening, the emergency interventions, the fight against terrorism, the protection of the security of the citizens in the virtual space, making operational and enlarging the mandate of the European prosecutor's office to terrorism crimes, as well as the consolidation of the judicial cooperation in terms of civil and criminal law. "We wish to contribute to drawing up viable solutions in these areas related to migration and to promote the cooperation among origin and transit states, including in terms of human trafficking combat," the Romanian Prime Minister said.
The third pillar of the activity of the Romanian Presidency at the EU Council is "Europe, a global player," having the main action direction starting from the common commitments assumed under the Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union.
"In terms of security policy, we'll endorse strengthening the EU's defence and security capabilities, in close complementarity with the similar processes inside NATO. At the same time, we must direct our attention to our immediate vicinity, which entails promoting the Union's enlargement policy. The ten year anniversary of the Eastern Partnership this year will represent an important moment in this respect. A special attention, nevertheless, must be granted to the Western Balkans," PM Dancila said.
The fourth pillar of Romania's exercising the EU Council Presidency will be "Europe of common values." In this respect, the Romanian PM said that "in order to stimulate the European political cohesion, we plan on intensely promoting the principles and values that unite us." "At the same time, we must firmly combat a series of problems societies inside the Union are still confronted with, such as racism, intolerance, xenophobia, populism, antisemitism, or the hate speech. We wish a more democratic Union, therefore we shall endorse the equality of treatment that all member states and all European citizens desire. This aspect is essential for the citizens' confidence in the European project. I am telling this from the perspective of the Romanian citizens whom I represent as Prime Minister and who, in spite of their very powerful attachment to the Union, feel an unequal treatment towards Romania, mainly when our country is criticised for aspects that are natural in other member states or when Romania is imposed certain conditionality that do not exist in other EU states," the Romanian PM also said before the European Parliament.
