25/03/2019 (Agence Europe) – Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă, whose country currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, announced on Saturday 23 March that she would take action to complete the procedures necessary for the opening of the Romanian Embassy in Jerusalem. This announcement, made at a conference of the pro-Israeli US lobby AIPAC, was criticised by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who, according to the Constitution, is responsible for validating, or not validating, the decision. The transfer of the embassy would run counter to the position of the EU and the UN. According to EEAS spokeswoman Maja Kocijančič, "the EU's position remains unchanged”, in other words, a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel and the State of Palestine, in accordance with the 1967 demarcation. She added that she had seen the President's reaction to Ms Dăncilă's announcement (see EUROPE 11926/5). (CG)