December 5, 2018

PM Viorica Dăncilă alongside members of her cabinet are today presenting in Brussels, the agenda and priorities of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union, as of January 1, 2019

Roxana Vasile, 05.12.2018, 14:05

COUNCIL OF THE EU – Less than a month before Romania’s taking
over the presidency of the Council of the European Union, PM Viorica Dăncilă has
today met with the Secretary General of the Council of the European Union, Jeppe
Tranholm-Mikkelsen. On this occasion,Viorica Dăncilă reiterated Bucharest’s commitment
to having an efficient Presidency, with a view to maintaining unity and
cohesion at community level. Also today, PM Viorica
Dăncilă alongside members of her cabinet
have presented the agenda and priorities of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union. The
event was part of a joint meeting of the
Government of Romania and the College of Commissioners, which is traditionally
organised before a member state takes over the presidency of the Council of the
European Union. Romania’s motto for its
six month tenure of the presidency will be Cohesion, a common European value.
The cohesion policy is aimed at reducing economic, social and territorial gaps
or disparities among the member states, the regions and citizens of the
European Union. Also, Romania, will actively contribute to identifying the most
adequate common answers to such issues as the consolidation of the European
migration and asylum policy and managing challenges to European domestic
policy. Also, Great Britain’s withdrawal from the community bloc, the single
market and negotiations for the future multi-annual financial framework are
issues on the agenda of the meeting between the College of Commissioners and
the Government of Romania.

NATO – Romanian foreign minister Teodor Meleşcanu has travelled to Brussels to attend the meeting of the NATO foreign ministers. On Tuesday, he underlined the importance of going ahead with the process of adapting the Alliance to the current security challenges, in a coherent and inclusive way, also including the eastern flank of the Alliance. Teodor Meleşcanu has also expressed support for the ministerial declaration, adopted on the occasion of the meeting, which shows NATOs solidarity with the US on Washingtons conclusion on Russias having infringed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

EDUCATION – The results of the project “Educated Romania, initiated by Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, are today being launched for public debate. According to the Presidential Administration, the project has been the most extensive and lengthy public consultation in education, that involved the participation of over 10,000 people. The priorities of the project, launched in 2016, refer to didactic career, educational management, equity, professional and technical education, higher education, the evaluation of pupils and students and early education. The site of the project will also be launched today, where the results will be made available for consultation and where all those interested are invited to leave their opinions and suggestions.

COMMEMORATION – The Romanians are today commemorating their last sovereign, king Michael I, who passed away at his residence in Switzerland, on December 5, 2017, at 96 years of age. A religious ceremony, organised by the family, was held at the Royal Resting Place in Curtea de Arges, in southern Romania, where all of Romanias kings are interred. The Senators in Bucharest have kept a moment of silence in memory of King Michael I. “It is a gesture of normalcy in the year of Great Union Centenary, when we should show respect to history and the people who have written it, the initiator of the proposal, Liberal Senator Mario Oprea has said. “He was a person whom I admired and respected the most, of all those whom I met along my entire life, said writer and political analyst Stelian Tănase, who has launched in Bucharest the volume “Conversations with King Michael, the transcript of 12 dialogues he had with the former sovereign in 2005.

RADIO – Radio Romania and Radio France have concluded
a four-year cooperation agreement. The document has been signed in Paris by the
presidents of the two public stations, Georgică Severin and Sibyle Veil. The
project is meant to tighten the sustainable relations between Romania and
France through cultural activities as well as exchange of journalists. The
President of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, Georgică Severin, has
underlined that Romania has remained a pole of Francophony and Fracophilia in
eastern Europe. According to Georgică Severin, Radio Romania will soon sign a similar
agreement with RAI and has reached an advanced stage of negotiations for a a
partnership with the BBC.

HANDBALL – Romanias national womens handball team is meeting in Brest this evening the European defending champion, Norway, in its last Group D match of the European Championship in France. Coached by the Spaniard Ambros Martin, the Romanian players won the first two matches of the final tournament, with the Czech Republic and Germany, and have already qualified to the next stage, called the main groups. The leader of the team, Cristina Neagu, has scored five goals in Mondays match with Germany, thus becoming the best scorer in the history of the European Championships, with 206 goals. Romania got the best result of the European final tournament in 2010, when it won bronze. (Translated by D. Vijeu)