Talks in Bucharest and Brussels on the future of the European Union
President Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest and Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos in Brussels on Monday held talks with European Union leaders, focusing on crucial issues regarding the future of the European Union.
România Internațional, 16.02.2016, 13:54
Negotiations focusing on the terms set by Great Britain to stay in the EU have reached a critical moment, the President of the European Council Donald Tusk said in Bucharest on Monday. Tusk also warned that the risk posed by the break up of the European Union was a real one. Donald Tusk is currently on a European tour, to present his compromise proposals, to be discussed at the European Council’s spring session, due over February 18 and 19. During the talks he held with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Tusk gave a detailed account of what his proposal entailed, as regards the enforcement of the safeguard mechanism.
Donald Tusk: “In Romania as well as in other EU countries, the issue of social benefits continues to be the most difficult one. Let me assure you that the proposal I have put on the table is a fair and balanced one. The safeguard mechanism on access to in-work benefits is not designed to apply to EU citizens currently working in the UK. This proposal protects the freedom of movement, while helping the UK to address its concerns when it comes to their specific system of in-work benefits.”
President Klaus Iohannis reiterated the fact that for Romania, it was crucial that Great Britain stays within the European Union and fully agreed to the reform package proposed by the European Council president. However, President Iohannis called for the principle of free movement and non-discrimination to be complied with.
Klaus Iohannis: ”For Romania, it is important that the safeguard mechanism should be a non-discriminatory one, it should also be exceptional and as limited in time as possible. Its enforcement should be based on a series of relevant justifications. “
The Romanian president’s stance was backed by Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos in Brussels. Romania’s technocratic Prime Minister underscored that Romania wanted the best solutions to be found, so that Great Britain should keep its EU membership. However, Ciolos highlighted the fact that at the forthcoming European Council, Bucharest wanted that certain issues related to the status of workers in Great Britain be clearly stated. Ciolos and the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker held talks on Romania’s Schengen accession and on the closing of the monitoring process of the justice system.
Romania believes that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism instated by the European Commission has met its initial target, Ciolos also said. The Romanian Prime Minister also said the process in its entirety should be integrated and internalized in the mechanisms the government, the judiciary or the Parliament might envisage. Dacian Ciolos went on to say he wanted Bucharest not to wait for the final year of the present European Commission’s term in office, so that a solution could be found as regards Romania’s accession to the free movement Schengen area, against the backdrop of monitoring reforms of the justice system. Jean-Claude Juncker firmly believed that Romania would have the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism lifted by the end of his term in office, provided Romania continued to meet the European requirements.
