Consultations on the EU’s Strategic Agenda
Talks on the preparation of the EU's Strategic Agenda for the next institutional cycle took place in Bucharest.
Corina Cristea, 04.04.2024, 14:00
Hosted in Bucharest by the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and the European Council President, Charles Michel, the working meeting for establishing the EU’s priorities in the next five years analyzed the lines of action to achieve the common objectives of strengthening the EU’s profile at international level. Talks started from the ideas set forth by the Granada Declaration, from October 2023, which marked the beginning of the process of defining the guidelines and strategic priorities for 2024-2029 and which identified among the major topics: security and defense, enlargement, EU involvement worldwide, resilience and competitiveness, energy and migration.
Romania is deeply engaged, every day, in advancing all these EU priorities and we can contribute significantly to this process, also based on our experience as a country that joined more recently and that is in the immediate vicinity of the war in Ukraine, the Romanian head of state said. Klaus Iohannis: “From Romania’s perspective, in the coming years, at the level of the European Union, we must focus on strengthening the European construction, and I am referring in particular to security and defense. It is our main priority and the perspective through which we see Bucharest and the EU enlargement process, as a long-term strategic investment in our common security.”
President Iohannis also said that in terms of connectivity, Romania wants a Europe anchored in global supply chains, and that the Black Sea plays a strategic role in this respect. As regards the single market, the president pointed out that it remains a fundamental pillar of the European project and the best tool to strengthen growth and resilience, including in the face of external shocks. Major challenges await us, but we also have the lessons learned from the last five extremely difficult years, in which the Union proved that it is resilient, adaptable and capable of protecting its citizens, Iohannis pointed out.
We have learned our lessons, you are absolutely right, the European Council President said in his turn. We have faced a lot of extraordinary difficulties – the pandemic, climate change, the energy crisis and many uncertainties, he added. Progress has been made in terms of EU expansion and very important decisions have been reached, Charles Michel said. He mentioned stability and prosperity as priorities of the Strategic Agenda, but he also mentioned the situation in agriculture. Farmers throughout the Union deserve our support and a decent income and, at the European Council, we tried to come up with some guidelines so that the member states and the Commission could offer concrete proposals and decisions for operational measures, which take into account the most valid aspects raised by farmers, Charles Michel explained.
The prime ministers of Belgium, Hungary and Croatia also participated in the consultations. Talks on the preparation of the Strategic Agenda will continue at the level of EU leaders, with the objective of being adopted by the European Council at the meeting scheduled at the end of June. (EE)
