PM Dancila tells Croatian President that Romania counts on member states’ support during EU Council Presidency

In Zagreb on Monday,  Romania’s Prime Minister Viorica Dancila met Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, occasion on which the PM said that Romania will count on all the EU member states, such as Croatia, for support when holding the EU Council Presidency to advance the European agenda. Dancila participated in Zagreb, on Monday, in the opening of the Summit of the heads of government of the Central European Initiative (CEI) member states, a Government press release informs. On the sidelines of this meeting, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila had  bilateral meetings with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, and Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic. “The Central European Initiative Summit in Zagreb will occasion the continuation of the debates on regional cooperation, with a focus on promoting democratic values and practices, good neighborly relations and ensuring regional stability. At the same time, the economic energy and transport interconnection projects will be approached, in order to bring this area closer to European standards and to support the European path of the aspiring states. The meeting will occasion the presentation of the objectives of the forthcoming Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (first half of 2019), with an impact on regional cooperation,” the Government informed. “The consultations with the senior Croatian officials will provide an opportunity to assess the state of the bilateral relationship and the regional situation, the coordination with regard to the exercising of the mandate of the EU Council by the two states, as part of the Trio of presidencies Romania-Finland-Croatia, with an emphasis on sustaining the European path of the Western Balkans”. According to a press statement released by the Romanian government, the European agenda was an important topic at the meeting with Croatia’s President, which took place in the form of a working lunch. “The Romanian Prime Minister and the Croatian President discussed the coordination within the trio of the rotating presidencies of the EU Council, which the two countries are part of, alongside Finland. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila welcomed the excellent co-operation in this field, announcing that the joint schedule of the trio is already completed thanks to the shared effort of coordination among the three countries. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said that Romania, as the future holder of the Presidency of the EU Council counts on all member states, such as Croatia, for support so that Romania’s tenure will bring concrete results to the advancement of the European agenda.” Dancila reiterated that the enlargement of the EU to include the Western Balkan states is a priority of Romania’s Presidency of the EU Council. She added that Romania remains committed to political support and technical assistance in advancing reforms in the states of the region in the process of getting closer to Euro-Atlantic bodies. She also congratulated Croatia on its successful chairmanship-in-office of the Central European Initiative this year and welcomed the emphasis on key themes such as energy efficiency, European integration and competitiveness.   Dancila meets Croatian Speaker Jandrokov, underscores importance of parliamentary diplomacy in identifying new cooperation opportunities   Prime Minister Viorica Dancila also had a meeting on Monday in Zagreb with Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandrokovic, occasion on which the Romanian PM underscored that the parliamentary diplomacy plays an important role in identifying new opportunities of bilateral cooperation, a release of the Government informs. “On this occasion, the Romanian Prime Minister hailed the positive dynamics of the bilateral political dialogue, both at Government and Parliament level. The relations between the two states are very good and based on similar standpoints over some aspects of the sphere of regional, European and international issues, the Romanian high official said. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said that, taking into account the extended cooperation framework between Romania and the Republic of Croatia, parliamentary diplomacy plays an important role in identifying new cooperation opportunities needed to further strengthen economic and sectoral relations,” the quoted source mentions. PM Viorica Dancila stated that Romania endorses the EU’s objectives in relation with the Western Balkans. “Moreover, the Executive head mentioned that Romania, as a consistent supporter of the enlargement policy and an EU member state, in the direct vicinity of the region with specific stability and security interests for the region, endorses the EU’s objectives regarding the Western Balkans, a region that has an important place among the objectives of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union,” the source mentions. Romania’s PM and Speaker of the Croatian Parliament also talked about the similar stances that the two states have in a series of European files: the future of Europe, the cohesion policy, the relations between the states of the Euro area and non-Euro, the Schengen Area and management of external borders of the EU, the Eastern Neighborhood.

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