President Nicușor Dan received Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, at the Cotroceni Palace on Thursday. Costa is currently on a tour of European capitals ahead of the European Council meeting scheduled for October.
During a press briefing, the head of state emphasized that Romania supports an “ambitious” European Union budget for the 2028–2034 period, with substantial allocations for cohesion and agriculture, as well as funds to boost the competitiveness of companies in less developed countries. “We had an in-depth discussion specifically on this topic. As you know, Romania has defined a large part of its position within the ‘Friends of Cohesion’ initiative, coordinated by Romania—17 European countries have defined their positions.
We want an ambitious European Union budget. We want substantial funding for the cohesion and agriculture chapters, precisely to bridge the gaps between citizens of different European countries. We are very interested in the pillar regarding competitiveness.
Once again, our goal here is to narrow the gap between European countries, and we want companies in less developed countries, such as Romania, to have access to competitiveness funds,” said Nicușor Dan after his meeting with Antonio Costa. The head of state noted that another topic discussed with Antonio Costa was the need to streamline the mechanisms for accessing European funds, given that bureaucracy has, according to the president, contributed to delays in the absorption of funding. Nicușor Dan: A compromise must be reached on identifying additional sources of revenue to support a more ambitious European budget Discussions between the two officials also focused on negotiations regarding the revenues and expenditures of the future European budget.
The President of Romania noted that member states must reach a compromise, including on identifying additional sources of revenue to support a more ambitious European budget. “We discussed how, among the 27 member states, we can reach a compromise both on the expenditure side and, especially, on the revenue side, and what those additional revenues should be to make this ambitious EU budget possible. We also discussed, as part of the preparations for the October Council, the process of European Union enlargement and, of course, our interest in ensuring that the Republic of Moldova’s accession process continues at a steady pace.
“We also discussed, of course, the security situation and support for Ukraine, as well as how these security needs should be incorporated into the future multiannual financial framework,” Nicușor Dan added. Another topic addressed was energy, both in the context of upcoming European discussions and from the perspective of consolidating a common energy market. “We also discussed energy—both specifically and in general—in light of upcoming European Council discussions and how we can achieve a common European energy market,” Nicușor Dan concluded.