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President Iohannis meets Presidents of European Council and European Commission
President Klaus Iohannis met on Friday morning with European Council President Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, after the works of the extraordinary meeting of the European Council regarding the 2021-2027 multiannual budget of the EU had been interrupted.
European Council President Charles Michel interrupted on Thursday evening the summit in order to carry out bilateral negotiations with all heads of state and government attending the meeting, in the attempt to reach an agreement regarding the EU's long term budget for 2021-2027.
The works of the extraordinary meeting of the European Council are to be resumed on Friday, when the European Council President is expected to submit a new proposal regarding the multiannual budget of the EU.
The extraordinary summit of the European Council started on Thursday afternoon and was interrupted after four hours of talks.
President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday, prior to the extraordinary meeting of the European Council, that he wishes for Romania to receive sufficient money for cohesion and agriculture in the future multiannual budget of the EU and, overall, a higher budget that the one of the previous period.
"There is a budget negotiation where everyone is trying to maximize their chances. My ambition is that we receive enough money for cohesion, that we receive enough money for agriculture and that we get a higher budget than the one in the previous budgetary period," Iohannis said before attending the extraordinary meeting of the European Council aimed at the EU's multiannual financial framework for the period 2021 - 2027.
The head of state voiced skepticism that a solution regarding the multi-annual budget would be reached these days. "I allow myself to be skeptical in this regard. I asses the chances of success somewhere at 50-50," he added.
The President reiterated that for Romania, a substantial financing for the Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy is extremely important, and pointed out that he expects the debates in the Council to be complicated due to the differing positions on the EU's multi-annual budget.
"In general, opinions are quite reserved. Those who give more than they receive consider that too much is given, those who receive more, as we are, consider that we receive too little, and for us it is extremely important to receive substantial funding for the cohesion policy and agriculture, but we are also interested in financing for the new, modern programs - digitization, artificial intelligence, research, student mobility and so on. Preparedness for climate action, for the so-called Green Deal, will play a major role in the entire discussion. The positions differ greatly, the initial approaches are quite tough for most participants and I expect very complicated discussions today," said Iohannis.