Minister Delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba closed the proceedings of the Interparliamentary Conference on the future of the European Union

Met dank overgenomen van Roemeens voorzitterschap Europese Unie 1e helft 2019 (Roemeens voorzitterschap) i, gepubliceerd op dinsdag 2 april 2019.

Today, April 2, 2019 Minister Delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba held a speech in conclusion of the proceedings of the Interparliamentary Conference on the future of the European Union, organised by the Special Joint Committee for coordinating parliamentary activities in preparation of Romania’s Presidency of the EU i Council, as part of the events within the parliamentary component of the Presidency.

In his speech, the Romanian official mentioned that Romania’s first rotating Presidency of the EU Council coincides with the crucial stage of the process of reflection on the future of the EU, while the results of the debates will have an important impact on the Summit in Sibiu, which will include discussions on the joint vision over the future of the Union, in order to determine the new strategic priorities.

George Ciamba made reference to the Declaration adopted during this Conference, “Towards a stronger, more cohesive, more comprehensive and more relevant Europe on the global stage”, indicating that this is a comprehensive document dealing with key aspects in the functioning of the European construct. He underlined that the content of the Declaration highlights both EU’s relevance for its citizens, and the importance of their support for continuing efforts to reform and consolidate the Union.

In the context of the elections for the European Parliament, the minister of European affairs stated the necessity to tackle disinformation campaigns, the fake news phenomenon, but also the extremist and Eurosceptic tendencies within the EU.

George Ciamba reiterated that the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union conceived its work agenda around reaffirming the value of cohesion, deemed as a guiding principle in both the political, the economic and the social fields. “The European Union is a successful economic and political model, based on a unique concept at the global level. When we are discussing about a sustainable future for the EU, we refer to consolidating the European construct, to a more cohesive functioning of the project”, underlined the Romanian dignitary.

Minister Ciamba also addressed aspects related to the Union’s regional and global role. “The EU’s global role begins in our neighbourhood. Any discussion on the future of Europe must include the dimension of the policies and instruments for external actions, all the more so of those addressed to the European Union neighbourhood. We cannot approach the EU’s external action without underlining our closest global partner, both for Romania and the Union as an assembly: The Unites States of America. The transatlantic relation was, is and will continue to be a partnership of global reference”, stated the minister for European affairs.

In conclusion of his intervention, Minister George Ciamba expressed hope that the vision reflected in the final document of the interparliamentary committee may inspire both the elections of May 26 and the European leaders’ political will to design the future strategic landmarks of the EU, based on the key words of the Declaration: cohesion, inclusion, internal solidarity and external credibility.