Ooni Koda
  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Newsfeed
  4. /
  5. European Council President Charles Michel, welcomed at Cotroceni...

European Council President Charles Michel, welcomed at Cotroceni Presidential Palace

April 29, 2024

European Council President Charles Michel was welcomed on Wednesday at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace by President Klaus Iohannis, and the two officials will hold a working meeting dedicated to the preparation of the future Strategic Agenda of the European Union.Prior to this meeting, which will also be attended by the Prime Ministers of Belgium, Hungary and Croatia, President Klaus Iohannis and the president of the European Council will have face-to-face talks and will then make joint press statements.Afterwards, the working meeting dedicated to the preparation of the future Strategic Agenda of the European Union will take place together with Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban and Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic."The consultations held in Bucharest are part of a broader process of defining the European Union's priorities for the period 2024-2029, which started at the informal European Council meeting in Granada on 6 October 2023, when the discussions of the leaders of the EU member states revealed the interest in placing security and defence, global engagement and enlargement of the Union at the top of the European agenda, and strengthening the Union's resilience and competitiveness. On the basis of the coordinates established in Granada, the discussions during the meeting at the Cotroceni Palace will be an opportunity to deepen these elements and to analyse the lines of action at the level of the European Union in order to achieve the common objectives of strengthening the EU's profile at international level, ensuring prosperity and promoting and protecting democracy and European values," the Presidential Administration informed on Tuesday.Discussions preparing the Strategic Agenda for the next institutional cycle will continue at EU leaders' level, so the European Council can adopt it at its meeting scheduled for the end of June this year.  The president of the European Council, Charles Michel on Wednesday congratulated Klaus Iohannis for Romania's partial accession to the European free movement area.Charles Michel held a joint press conference with the Romanian head of state in which he congratulated president Iohannis for the important steps taken regarding accession to the Schengen Area.On March 31, Romania and Bulgaria entered the air and maritime Schengen area.The president of the European Council voiced conviction that Romania would take additional steps in this regard.Michel recalled that, during a previous visit to Romania, he made a commitment to support our country's efforts regarding Schengen accession. "This very great progress has been made. You can count on my support from now on," said the senior official.The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, is in Bucharest to discuss the EU's Strategic Agenda for the next five years.He will discuss this topic with president Iohannis, the prime minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, the prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban and the prime minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenkovic."We learnt our lessons, you're absolutely right. We have been facing a lot of extraordinary difficult challenges: the Covid pandemic, the climate and the energy crisis, war on European soil and a lot of uncertainty. Progress has been made on EU enlargement and very important decisions have been reached", the European official pointed out.Charles Michel emphasized that one of the priorities is security and defense. "We intend to identify the necessary instruments for investments", he pointed out, stressing that European countries must be "more responsible for their own security".The president of the European Council mentioned, among the priorities of the new agenda, the stability and prosperity of the European Union. Charles Michel also spoke about the situation in agriculture. "Farmers in the European Union deserve our support and fair revenues," he said.The EU leader emphasized that all decisions at this level "are guided by this fundamental belief in common values".   

Read in full - click here
Les Films de Cannes à Bucarest: Festival announces 2025 dates, first program highlights

The 16th edition of Les Films de Cannes, the festival showcasing productions awarded or selected at the Cannes film festival, returns this fall to Bucharest and four other cities in the country. The winner of this year's Palme d'Or, Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident, will be screened at the event, as will be […]

Eastern Romania: Natural sciences museum in Galaţi reopens after EUR 3 million modernization works

Răsvan Angheluţă Natural Sciences Museum in Galaţi is scheduled to reopen on September 20, after the completion of modernization works worth over 15.1 million lei (approximately EUR 3 million) carried out by the County Council through the recovery and resilience facility PNRR.  The building hosts an Aquarium, an Astronomical Observatory, a Planetarium, and temporary exhibitions. […]

Romanian paramedics team named best in the world

A team of Romanian paramedics won first place at the World Rescue Challenge 2025, a competition that sees first responders and trauma teams from around the world develop new skills and share knowledge. This year, the competition took place in Karlovac, Croatia, and was attended by two Romanian paramedics from Bucharest who have been working […]

Romanian auction house Artmark registers record EUR 15 mln sales in 2024-2025

Artmark, one of Romania’s leading auction houses, registered record sales of over EUR 15 million despite economic instability, showing the growth potential of the national art market, according to the company’s 2024-2025 market report.  Overall, auction sales totaled EUR 11 million, up 8.2% compared to the previous year, while sales through the “Dependent de Artă” […]

DefCamp 2025 turns Bucharest into the regional cybersecurity hub at its 15th edition, hosted at the Palace of the Parliament

Cybersecurity has become a major global priority, impacting individual users, companies, organizations, and public institutions. Social engineering, deepfakes, digital manipulation, and coordinated geopolitical attacks are fundamentally reshaping how we view the digital future. In this context, DefCamp, the largest cybersecurity and hacking conference in Central and Eastern Europe, reaffirms its role as a strategic hub […]

Romanian airline AnimaWings targets 18-aircraft fleet worth over USD 1 bln by end-2027

Romanian airline AnimaWings has received its fifth Airbus aircraft, an A220-300, as part of an ambitious expansion plan to build a fleet of 18 planes by the end of 2027, valued at over USD 1 billion.  The A220-300 is the airline’s third of this type and will serve both domestic and international routes. Configured with […]