While on a tour of European capitals, the European Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa visited Bucharest on Thursday, where he was received by President Nicu\u015for Dan. The main topic of discussion was the EU\u2019s future budget for the 2028\u20132034 period. The European official sought to ascertain the positions of all member states on this issue, as well as to discuss defense, EU enlargement, and support for Ukraine. The European Commission is proposing a future budget of approximately 2,000 billion euros. The draft also calls for a reduction of approximately 10% in funding for the EU\u2019s agricultural policy and cohesion policy, a measure opposed by Romania along with 16 other member states. Romania wants an ambitious future EU budget, with substantial allocations for cohesion and agriculture, the Romanian head of state stated. He noted that Bucharest has broadly defined its position within the \u201cFriends of Cohesion\u201d group, coordinated by Romania, which includes 17 European countries.<\/p>\n
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Nicu\u015for Dan: \u201cWe want substantial funding for the cohesion and agriculture chapters, precisely so that we can bridge the gaps between citizens of different European countries. We are very interested in the pillar on competitiveness. Again, we\u2019re talking about reducing, or aiming to reduce, the gap between European countries, and we want companies in less developed European countries, such as Romania, to have access to competitiveness funds.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The EU\u2019s next multiannual budget will enable Europe to strengthen its defense and security and boost its competitiveness, said the President of the European Council. He emphasized that negotiations for the future budget are taking place in a different geopolitical context than when the current multiannual financial framework was approved. The European official expressed his appreciation to Romania for its firm commitment to defending European security. Antonio Costa also said that the recent violations of Romanian airspace, as well as incidents involving naval drones, are \u201cdeeply concerning\u201d and that Brussels will continue to stand with Romania, as it understands that Romania\u2019s security is the security of Europe as a whole. We must stand united in our efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, the European official emphasized.<\/p>\n
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During the discussions, Nicu\u015for Dan also addressed the EU enlargement process, in the context of preparations for the October European Council. The president stated that Romania is interested in seeing the Republic of Moldova\u2019s EU accession process continue \u201cat a steady pace.\u201d Ant\u00f3nio Costa thanked Bucharest for its support of Chi\u015fin\u0103u and noted that every round of enlargement has made Europe stronger, both politically and economically. \u201cIt is one of Europe\u2019s most important geopolitical investments. It is an investment in our security, stability, and prosperity,\u201d said Ant\u00f3nio Costa. (LS)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
While on a tour of European capitals, the European Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa visited Bucharest on Thursday, where he was received by President Nicu\u015for Dan. The main topic of discussion was the EU\u2019s future budget for the 2028\u20132034 period. The European official sought to ascertain the positions of all member states on this issue, as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":1056419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[55954,163694,32844,144319],"coauthors":[113311],"class_list":["post-1056449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-antonio-costa","tag-cotroceni-2","tag-eu-budget","tag-nicusor-dan-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n