A look back the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU so far

Romanias Prime Minister has presented a report on Romanias first two months as holder of the Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Corina Cristea, 08.03.2019, 12:38

The Romanian
Presidency of the Council of the European Union completed 67 files during the
first two months of its term in office, half of which have already been
approved by the ambassadors of EU member states. This is the conclusion
stemming from the activity report presented by Prime Minister Viorica Dancila.
This is the first time Romania holds the rotating presidency of the Council of
the EU since it joined the Union in 2007 and its motto is cohesion. The
authorities want to complete as many legislative files as possible linked to
cooperation with the European Parliament by April, ahead of preparations for
the European Parliament elections in May.

The Prime
Minister believes the results obtained so far, which have been repeatedly
praised in meetings Dancila had with EU officials in Brussels, are positive. A
political agreement has recently been reached on EU capital markets, by
facilitating access to mortgage loans and loans for the public sector.
Moreover, the Romanian Presidency also reached an agreement regarding a new
generation of low-carbon benchmarks needed to help boost investment in
sustainable projects and assets. Furthermore, the Romanian Presidency and the
European Parliament also reached a preliminary agreement on a set of temporary
and limited measures to ensure basic road freight and road passenger
connectivity in order to mitigate the most severe disruption in the event that
the UK leaves the EU without a negotiated agreement.

During talks
held in Brussels with EU chief negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier, Prime
Minister Dancila said the Romanian authorities are prepared for any scenario,
including a no-deal Brexit, saying the EU is waiting on next week’s vote on
Theresa May’s new Brexit deal scheduled to take place in the House of Commons.
Brussels this week also played host to the first meeting of the Energy Council,
where the Romanian line minister Anton Anton presented progress obtained so far
regarding the revision of the Natural Gas Directive and the regulations
regarding Europe’s energy interconnection mechanism. Progress was also reported
at the Environment Council meeting, with focus on sustainable development.

Additionally,
the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council, the first presided by
Romania, resulted in a decision to consolidate the EU’s civil protection
capacity in order to better prevent risks and offer support in due time to
member states and participant states in case of a natural calamity or man-made
hazards. The Justice and Home Affairs Council decided to modify the EU’s civil
protection mechanism and develop a reserve capacity to complement national
response capacities in the event of disasters.