President Iohannis to participate in EU-ASEAN Summit, European Council meeting

 President Klaus Iohannis will participate on Wednesday in the European Union - Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, and on Thursday in the European Council meeting in Brussels where he will also raise the topic of Romania's accession to the Schengen Area.The EU-ASEAN meeting marks 45 years of dialogue between the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and is the first Summit attended by the representatives of the European institutions and the 27 leaders of the European Union, thus marking a historic first.According to the Presidential Administration, the meeting will offer EU and ASEAN leaders the opportunity to address current regional and global issues, including challenges related to security, as well as to identify, on a concrete level, projects of common interest in areas such as trade, climate change, biodiversity, connectivity, digital agenda and food security.On Thursday, President Klaus Iohannis will participate in the European Council meeting, which will include a discussion on the Russian Federation's war of aggression against Ukraine, both from the perspective of maintaining and strengthening European support for Ukraine at all levels, as well as from the perspective of engaging the responsibility of the Russian Federation.An important item on the agenda concerns the coordination of support given to Ukraine following repeated attacks on critical and energy infrastructure that have left millions of civilians without electricity, heating or running water and which requires a rapid response, including from a humanitarian point of view. The continuation of support for the Republic of Moldova, seriously affected by the current situation, will also be addressed.The European leaders will also analyze the status of the steps taken in the field of security and defense, in order to strengthen the European capacities in this field.Another topic of discussion is the progress made in the field of energy, in the direction drawn by the Conclusions of the European Council meeting of October this year, as well as the ways to strengthen the resilience of the European economies.The agenda of the European Council also includes a strategic debate on the Southern Neighborhood of the European Union, as well as a discussion on the results of the EU Summit - Western Balkans in Tirana and cooperation with the states of this region, including the dimension of migration. The European leaders will also hold a strategic discussion regarding the European Union's relations with the United States of America, with an emphasis on security and economic cooperation.During the European Council meeting, President Klaus Iohannis will also raise the topic of Romania's accession to the Schengen area, the Presidential Administration informed.President Klaus Iohannis announced on Monday that he will raise the issue of Romania's accession to Schengen within the European Council, but he emphasized that a new vote on this issue can only be cast in the JHA Council.He also said that before the European Council, he would present two or three actions that he intends to initiate, so that Romania makes progress towards joining the Schengen Area."It is obvious that we must continue in all possible ways to find a solution - diplomatic, obviously - to this problem. We will discuss the concrete steps we will take along the way. Today I will not give you anything concrete, but on Wednesday I will probably present to you two or three actions that I will initiate in order to progress on this Schengen file," Iohannis said during a press conference held at the Cotroceni Palace.