Friends of Competitiveness Meeting
Urgent measures are needed to lower energy prices, the Romanian president underlined at the meeting of Friends of Competitiveness.
Ştefan Stoica, 11.03.2026, 13:50
The President of Romania, Nicuşor Dan, participated, on Tuesday, via videoconference, in the meeting of the ‘Friends of Competitiveness’ group of states. Nicuşor Dan wrote in a Facebook post that ‘it was a very useful meeting from the perspective of coordinating our positions, in preparation for the European Council of March 19-20. Next week, the leaders of the EU member states are expected to have discussions on the next multiannual financial framework, competitiveness and the Single Market, defense and European security in the context of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. As expected, Tuesday’s discussions were dominated by the urgency of the moment, namely the risk of energy prices increasing uncontrollably in the scenario of a prolonged war in the Middle East.
The Romanian President stressed the need and importance of urgent measures to lower energy prices, so as to reduce the pressure on industry and citizens and to revive the competitiveness of the European economy. There was consensus on this issue among the participating leaders, Nicuşor Dan mentioned. In parallel, we must analyze how we will approach the energy sector in the medium and long term, with a focus on capitalizing on the role of our own resources and their revalorization in the overall European energy mix, Nicuşor Dan conveyed. Certainly, he added, the European Union must strengthen its autonomy in this sector and reduce its dependencies as quickly as possible.
In addition to the Romanian President, the meeting was attended by leaders from Italy, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Denmark. The first meeting of the “Friends of Competitiveness” group of states took place on 12 February this year, ahead of the informal European Council meeting in Belgium. The inaugural meeting was hosted by the Italian, German and Belgian heads of government, and the talks focused on three main priorities: completing the European single market, simplifying regulations and reducing energy prices, and an ambitious and pragmatic trade policy.
The leaders also discussed relaunching European industry, including by revising emissions pricing mechanisms and monitoring more closely the priorities set by the European Council. Besides Italy, Germany and Belgium, this group includes several EU Member States, including Romania. The EU leaders’ meeting that took place on the same day, after the meeting of the “Friends of Competitiveness” group, highlighted a consensus on deepening European integration, in particular through a more integrated single market and reducing bureaucracy. (LS)
