#Romania2019.eu Ciamba highlights in meeting with Loiseau Romania's interest in ensuring successful EU Council Presidency mandate

Minister-delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba highlighted, in the meeting on Thursday with his French counterpart Nathalie Loiseau, Romania's interest in ensuring a successful mandate at the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. 

According to a Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) release, the Romanian official highlighted "Romania's interest in ensuring a successful mandate at the EU Council Presidency, in close cooperation with the European member states and institutions, meant to make the European agenda progress of a consensual and efficient manner, to the citizens' benefit, with a focus on the transversal political objective of ensuring economic, social and territorial cohesion on a European level." 

The discussions emphasised the similarity of positions between Romania and France on some current priorities of the EU agenda. Moreover, they underscored the importance of concluding an agreement on the future Multiannual Financial Framework this autumn at the latest and of keeping an important role for the Common Agricultural Policy in the future budget of the Union. 

MAE mentions that the two officials also reiterated that Romania and France are strategic partners sharing the goal of a stronger, more efficient and more democratic Union, and closer to its citizens and are closely collaborating to achieve this goal, including in the perspective of the Summit in Sibiu on Europe's future, of 9 May. 

On the occasion of the meeting, the special nature of the bilateral relation was also reaffirmed, as well as the opening to dialogue and a strengthened cooperation with the French partners, including during the first exercise of the Romanian Presidency at the Council of the EU. 

The visit of the French minister took place in the context of Romania's taking over the mandate at the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 January.