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The bilateral relationship between Romania and Ireland has become more and more powerful in recent years, said Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at the end of the Victoria Palace meeting with Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, during the joint press statements.
We have a very large community of Romanians, around 75,000, which means some 1.5pct of the country's population. It's a well-integrated community that we care about. And, as the Prime Minister mentioned, the Romanian language is taught in Irish schools and the members of the community in Ireland are indeed some good ambassadors of the nation, Varadkar pointed out.
The Irish prime minister also underlined that bilateral trade has doubled over the past 10 years.
We had a very pleasant conversation about Romania's plans for the first presidency of the Council of the EU and the main topic, of the European cohesion and values, is one with which we identify ourselves very well. So it will be a very busy presidency, because we have Brexit in March and the European elections in May. We are trying to negotiate a new multiannual financial framework. The agenda is extremely busy considering the fact that in May we have that meeting in Sibiu, where we will present the future of the European Union and we will discover what needs to be done, Varadkar pointed out.
During lunch, we discussed the EU budget, which will have to reflect the new challenges, such as increasing economic growth and jobs, managing migration and security but also tackling climate change, which, as far as I understand, causes floods and rain in Romania, while in Ireland we have drought. And we have agreed that we must support, at least financially, at the same level, the cohesion element and the element of common agricultural policy, which is extremely important for both Ireland and Romania. And I am sure that when I am asked about what is happening in this area of Europe with regard to the Western Balkans, the European integration of Moldova or Ukraine, I am sure that Mrs. Dancila is a person who can inform me correctly on these topics, said Varadkar.
