Discussions of President Johannis with EC President Jean-Claude Juncker

Romania's accession in the Schengen area has been discussed on Friday at Cotroceni presidential Palace in Bucharest, where President Klaus Johannis met with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and his team of commissioners. On this occasion, President of the European Commission drew attention of the fact that Romania will have a difficult mandate, with many legislative initiatives and technical files to be finalized in the six months when it will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Jean-Claude Juncker also spoke about the upcoming EU Summit in Sibiu in May 2019, as a moment when the EU will have to send a signal that it will reborn after withdrawal of Great Britain.

RRA Reporter Oana Bâlă: "Romania is well prepared for the Presidency of the EU Council - President Klaus Iohannis said - and stressed that the next six months will be difficult but interesting, our country will achieve the desired results. The Head of State said he would remain faithful to the idea that the rule of law is not a negotiable matter, and considers, on the other hand, that Romania must be part of the Schengen Area".

President Klaus Iohannis: "We are trying to convince our friends and partners that Romania is a serious, safe country that respects the rules imposed by the Schengen Area and is based on EU values. Progress is still a little awaited, but personally I haven’t given up and I will continue to talk with everyone to convince them that Romania does not want to be in the Schengen Area as a problem, but as part of a solution to improve security in the Schengen Area".

RRA Reporter: "European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that Romania takes over the Presidency of the EU Council at a difficult time for EU and has to bring hope. The European official mentioned the summit in Sibiu on 9 May that will allow relaunch of the European ambitions after withdrawal of Great Britain from the Union".

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker: "Meeting will be dedicated to stability, because by then, the United Kingdom will have gone out of the EU, and we have to demonstrate it to everybody, to those who are watching us from the outside, that the EU is re-launching, it has a new beginning, a new stage in its long history. The Romanian EU Presidency will be a Presidency that will provide results. We have actually put a whole series of legislative proposals on the table of the co-decision partner and we expect that most of them will be concluded before the European Parliament elections".

RRA Reporter: "Jean-Claude Juncker also pleaded for a consensus at the level of the political class in Romania, so that the Romanian EU Presidency would be a success".

Head of EU Executive also said that there could be no compromise on the rule of law, and a project on amnesty and pardon in the justice laws would be a step back. The highest European officials were in Bucharest on 10-11 January to attend the official launch of Romania’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union (January-July 2019).

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei