On Tuesday 8 January, the Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs, George Ciamba, presented his country's priorities for its Presidency of the Council of the EU, which began on 1 January. For its very first presidency, Romania has chosen ‘cohesion’ as its watchword.
“The emphasis will be on cohesion, which will be our watchword. We must apply it in all its aspects”, informed Mr Ciamba.
According to him, it is necessary to “strengthen cohesion in political action to strengthen the link between Member States, the European institutions and citizens” and to consolidate the economic dimension of cohesion as a “driving force to catch up between Member States and at the same time to strengthen the single market”. Finally, Mr Ciamba promoted the social dimension of cohesion with “social convergence between Member States”, insisting on the fact that “the 4 freedoms of the internal market must be preserved”.
The Minister recalled the four areas of work of the Romanian Presidency. First of these is a convergent Europe. “We want to contribute to more convergence and cohesion to achieve greater equality of opportunity between Member States and citizens on jobs and growth”, he explained.
Another priority is a more secure Europe, with “strengthening security through cohesion between Member States facing new security challenges”.
The Presidency also wants to strengthen the EU's role as a global player, highlighting the enlargement policy, but also it's neighbours, South East Asia and Africa.
Finally, Romania intends to promote a “Europe of common values” by insisting on the policy against discrimination, equal opportunities and treatment between genders, strengthening the involvement of citizens, especially young people, but also the fight against misinformation (see other news). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)