Negrescu: I'll stay faithful to giving everyone a chance to join preparations for Romania's EU Council presidency

Minister-delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu met on Monday the participants in the second stage of the programme "Volunteers of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union," a programme that allows the selected ones to contribute their ideas and projects to the successful unfolding of this important moment to our country. 

According to a press statement released by the Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE), on Monday the second stage of the programme "Volunteers of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union," initiated by the Minister-delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu started and it will take place between October and December 2018 at MAE. 

The 35 selected volunteers are aged between 19 and 49 and they will participate in the activities carried out by the departments of the MAE Unit in charge with preparing Romania for assuming the presidency of the EU Council. 

"I will stay faithful to the principle of giving everyone interested a chance to participate in the preparation and the exercise of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union. The volunteer programme allows the selected people to contribute their ideas and projects to the successful unfolding of this important moment for Romania," Negrescu is quoted as saying in the statement. 

Romania will assume the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on January 1, 2019. 

While in office, Romania will represent the Council of the European Union in dialogue with the other European institutions, in particular the European Commission and the European Parliament, also working in close coordination with the President of the European Council in the decision-making process. 

The rotating presidency ensures the day-to-day management of the European agenda and chairs the council sectoral formations at all levels (ministerial, ambassadorial and technical), with the exception of the Foreign Affairs Council. The presidency has to act as an impartial mediator, focusing mainly on the presentation of compromise proposals able to lead to the adoption of common positions of the member states. 

A pilot version of the "Volunteers of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union" was conducted at MAE, April 1, 2018 - June 30, 2018, with 38 volunteers aged between 18 and 40 participating.