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President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday welcomed Austria's Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs Karin Kneissl, with whom he discussed the consolidation and diversification of the bilateral cooperation on all levels, in the perspective of Austria and Romania successively holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, as well as cooperation on a regional, European and international level, a Presidential Administration release informs.
According to the source, President Iohannis hailed the consistent political dialogue held with the Austrian counterpart, Van der Bellen, in Ruse, in May, alongside the Bulgarian President, and voiced his openness to continue this format during Austria's Presidency of the Council of the EU.
At the same time, the head of state voiced hope that the Three Seas Initiative Summit organisation in Bucharest, on 17 and 18 September, will represent a new opportunity to meet the Austrian counterpart.
The two officials hailed the "very solid" economic cooperation between the two countries, underscoring the importance of ensuring a predictable economic environment, meant to encourage new business connections.
President Ioahhnis and Austria's Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs appreciated the good cooperation in respect to the coordination of the successive mandates at the Presidency of the Council of the EU, and voiced their interest in meeting the common goal of promoting the European agenda, in the sense of endorsing a united Europe, without divisions, focused on obtaining good results, in the citizens' interest. In this context, Klaus Iohannis underscored he need to enhance the relevance of the EU as a global actor.
The head of state and the Austrian minister voiced support for continuing the EU enlargement to South-Eastern Europe, with those states meeting the accession criteria, based on the principle of own merits, also discussing the coordination of efforts during the two presidencies of the Council of the EU.
Austria's Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs paid an official visit to Bucharest, at the invitation of her Romanian counterpart.
