President Iohannis, after European Council meeting: More money for cohesion,agriculture policy in future EU budget
President Klaus Iohannis on Friday participated in the European Council meeting, in a videoconference system, in which context he insisted that Romania needs to receive the largest possible allocations under the cohesion and rural development policy, in the future EU budget.
The meeting focused mainly on the Union's Economic Recovery Plan and the revised Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027, recently proposed by the European Commission. The negotiation process of the future relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom, as well as foreign affairs topics were also addressed, according to a press release of the Presidential Administration.
President Klaus Iohannis said on Friday that he wants a considerably larger amount for Romania in the next budget of the European Union and favourable implementation conditions for the country, announcing that a European Council summit will be held most likely in mid-July.
"In the current budget, Romania was entitled to 44 billion euros. I and the entire Romanian team are fighting to get a considerably higher amount for the next budget and we are also fighting to get favourable implementation conditions for Romania. That means money for economic development, for health, for the environment, for highways and railways, for water and sewage, for education, for renewable energy and many other things. I think it is obvious that Romania needs money to catch up with the average EU. That is our ambition, and we will continue to meet in person at the European Council summit, probably in mid-July, when I continue to get involved in order to get as much as possible for Romania from the European Union," Iohannis told a news briefing at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace. He added that after the summit of the council, the member states' leaders agreed to discuss the multiannual budget and the recovery fund, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic all in one.
He said more talks were needed."On the other hand, it was seen today in the videoconference that there is still a lot of discussion needed to put everything in order. Not everyone is clear yet how the final amount for the recovery fund should be approached and we also need to discuss that as well as the conditions under which these amounts can be granted," he said.