Between January 1st and June 30th, 2019, Romania will exercise its first mandate at the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union against a background of a European agenda marked by political developments and dossiers with a decisive impact on the future of the Union.
The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the negotiation of the future European budget, the European Parliament elections in May 2019, preceded by a campaign with major political stakes and messages with potential for disinformation and division at European level will increase the complexity of the agenda.
Within this evolving framework, the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union will aim to promote a vision focused on the principle of European cohesion on all dimensions – political, economic and social. Working under the motto “Cohesion, a common European value”, the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union will focus on identifying solutions that reflect both the interests of the Member States and the vision of the European institutions, acting in the spirit of a stronger and more united Europe.
In this vein, the priorities of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union reflect the need for cohesion and have been assigned to four main pillars of action:
- (1) Europe of convergence: growth, cohesion, competitiveness, connectivity;
- (2) A safer Europe;
- (3) Europe as a stronger global actor;
- (4) Europe of common values.
For more information on the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, click on the following links:
A rotating presidency
The presidency of the Council rotates among the EU member states every 6 months. During this 6-month period, the presidency chairs meetings at every level in the Council, helping to ensure the continuity of the EU's work in the Council.
Member states holding the presidency work together closely in groups of three, called 'trios'. This system was introduced by the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. The trio sets long-term goals and prepares a common agenda determining the topics and major issues that will be addressed by the Council over an 18 month period. On the basis of this programme, each of the three countries prepares its own more detailed 6-month programme.
The current trio is made up of the presidencies of the Romania, Finland and Croatia.
https://councilnewsroomvideo.azureedge.net/video-files/f71f9f16-e3ca-11e7-93db-bc764e093073.mp4
