First day of the participation of Minister for European Affairs George Ciamba in the 14th edition of Globsec Bratislava Forum

Met dank overgenomen van Roemeens voorzitterschap Europese Unie 1e helft 2019 (Roemeens voorzitterschap) i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 6 juni 2019.

Today, June 6, 2019, on the occasion of this year’s edition of Globsec Bratislava Forum, Minister for European Affairs George Ciamba participated in a special panel dedicated to the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in which his interlocutor was journalist Annabelle Chapman.

In his speech, the minister for European affairs highlighted the significance of the Sibiu Summit, both in the context of the Declaration agreed by the EU leaders in the Informal Summit of May 9, 2019, and from the larger perspective of the agenda of the Romanian Council Presidency that has constantly promoted unity as a prerequisite of a stronger European project.

Minister George Ciamba referred to the convergence of those commitments with the principles promoted by Romania, in its capacity as Council Presidency: defending one Europe, a Europe that is solidary, from East to West and from North to South, identifying inclusive and fair common solutions, safeguarding European values and recognising the European perspective of the neighbourhood countries, collectively tackling international challenges, and capitalising on global opportunities.

In connection to the next EU’s Strategic Agenda, the Romanian minister highlighted that it was important to set up common priorities that focus on ambitious yet realistic objectives and that should bring sensible benefits to all the EU citizens. To that end, it will be essential to uphold the undertaken commitments as well as to endow the EU with flexible and effective instruments.

Minister George Ciamba reiterated the role played by Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU in strengthening the European project and presented the greatest successes that it had achieved during the first five months of its mandate. He pointed out that genuine success of a Council Presidency primarily rests on its capacity to preserve and capitalise on its neutrality and therefore act as a fair broker. Through the substantive results achieved in negotiating more than 90 wide-impact, major and difficult legislative files, the Romanian Council Presidency has marked a return to the original mission of this rotating office.

The minister mentioned the Gas Directive, an important step towards ensuring a single and transparent regulatory framework at European level. Another important step taken at European level is reaching a political agreement on the proposal to establish a European Labour Authority. He also recalled that the Romanian Presidency had made efforts to fight against disinformation and protect the electoral process, in the perspective of the elections for the European Parliament.

On the margins of Globsec Bratislava Forum, the minister for European affairs also discussed the focus of the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council on deepening the digital market, including with regards to cybersecurity.

The Romanian official also participated in a dialogue with František Ružička, State Secretary for European Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia. The two officials approached topics such as the EU enlargement policy and the new EU institutional framework.

Additional information:

The 14th edition Globsec Bratislava Forum, focusing mainly on the topic of Navigating through Disruption, takes place on June 6-7, 2019. The forum is built around five key topics: security and defence, the challenges of democracy, the impact of technology and digitalisation, the future of Europe and the main global challenges. Every year, the event brings together prestigious participants from fields such as diplomacy, economics, finance, analytical expertise and the world of business, as well as numerous high-level officials representing the European and Euro-Atlantic organisations.