#Romania2019.eu/PM Dancila: The most difficult file is the Multiannual Financial Framework

Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Thursday stated that the most difficult file that Romania will have to deal with while holding the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union is the Multiannual Financial Framework. 

"Definitely, the Multiannual Financial Framework (the most difficult file to be managed while Romania is holding the presidency of the Council of EU - editor's note), because on the manner in which we are going to manage this file, on the manner in which we will manage to get to an agreement on this framework, depend the other policies too, be them the traditional policies - and I mean here the common agricultural policy or the cohesion policy - , or immigration, asylum, foreign affairs, all that we are going to decide for the next period and will have an impact on each member state depends on the manner in which we manage the Multiannual Financial Framework. But of course that we also have other policies and challenges that we must respond to - and I mean here the Brexit, the future of the EU post-Brexit - which are very important files, over which we will need to reach a consensus among the member states," Dancila told Radio Romania Actualitati radio station, when asked what is the most important file to be dealt with in the next six months. 

Dancila also mentioned that the legislative procedure during the period when Romania is holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU will be shorter, in the context of the elections to the European Parliament, whereas the large number of files that need to be concluded puts a big pressure on the Presidency exercised by Romania. 

"There is political will from the European institutions and definitely from the member states to finalize as many files as possible by the end of this legislative cycle, for we must not forget that Romania completes the Strategic Agenda for 2014-2019. (...) And besides the already existing themes, there can also appear other themes too, the so-called crisis situations, which we also must react to. Such situations are tough to deal with no matter which country is holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU, be it a newer or an older member state. We hope that we will handle everything with professionalism, pragmatism, while always trying to reach a consensus, regardless of the topic that could appear on the table of negotiations that we are going to manage," said the Prime Minister. 

PM Viorica Dancila specified that she doesn't believe that a consensus can be reached on the Multiannual Financial Framework. 

"No. Our approach is ambitious, but also realistic. I said that I hope we will make important steps ahead, but I don't think that we will be able to reach a political agreement, for their is a division of opinions among the member states related to this aspect and the meeting of the Council of the EU of December 2018 highlighted this division," said the Prime Minister.