Omair Farooq Khan
The Council of the European Union is one of the most important legislative bodies of the European Union along with the European Parliament.Besides the legislative responsibility, there are five major responsibilities of the Council which include; making and amending the EU laws,adaptation of the Union’s budget, coordinates with the member states on many different policies like common agriculture policy, employment and education policies. Furthermore, the Council is also responsible for making agreements outside the Union and most importantly setting common security and foreign policiesunder the directives ofthe European Council.
Responsibility of the Presidency
The Chair or the Presidency of the Council rotates among the members of the Union. Each member is provided with an opportunity to preside the Council for six months. The Presidency ensures the continuation of the legislative work of the Union. By looking at the demanding and delicate workload of the Council, under the Treaty of Lisbon (2009), the Presidency of the Council works in a group called “trio” for eighteen consecutive months.At the moment, the trio comprises of Romania, Finland, and Croatia. From January 2019 till June 2020, Romania hastaken care of the assemblies and activities to promote the common agenda of the EU.
Romania as the President of the Council of the European Union
Romania assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on the 1st of January, 2019.It is the first time Romania holds the Council rotatory presidency since it became a member of the European Union in 2007. The Presidency is one of the main positions in the Union in which the member country enjoys important administrative and legislative powers. In that scenario,the Presidency is an opportunity for Romania to promote its cultural and tourism industry and to take the country on the new heights of economic and commercial activities by connecting Romania with other members of the EU.
Like its predecessors, Romania also set its priorities to run the Presidency from January to June, which have been set under the motto of “Cohesion, A Common European Union.” The priorities set by Romania depict its motto, and the priorities are as follows:
Priority 1: Europe of Convergence
Romania joins the EU in 2007 but unfortunately, since then, it has not been included in Schengen Zone. On the number of occasions, the President of European Commission Jean Claude Juncker and President of European Council Donald Tusk have mentioned that the EU is not complete without Romania. But, Romania has been criticized by some members of the Union over Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM). This is the reason, the main priority of the Romanian Presidencyhas been the Convergence of the Union’s member. More integration and convergence will create more opportunities, for other members in general and in particular for Romania. This will reduce the development gaps, promote investments, ease the flow of capital and labor,extend the single market economy and increase connectivity.
Priority 2: A Safer Europe; new Security Challenges and Security of the Citizens.
The location of Romania is of very critical importance. Since the annexation of Crimea, Russia is extending its military influence in the Eastern European and EU cannot afford another Russian adventure in its immediate neighbor.Cyber attacks and security concerns regarding the influx of migrants from Eastern Europe are the issues that have put the safety of the Union on the priority list. The Presidency has dedicated the available resources to fight against terrorism and promote the dialogue among the EU members to ensure the safety of the European citizens, from internal and external threats.
Priority 3: Europe, as a
Stronger Global Actor.
One of the main priorities of the Romanian Presidency has been the consolidation of the European global image especially in Eastern Europe and in Balkans. Romania, (including Croatia and Bulgaria) being a strong contender for the accession to the Schengen Zone, fully supports the enlargement policy of the EU. A constructive role of the EU in its neighborhoodwill reflect the strong image of the EU in the global arena.
Priority 4: Europe of Common Values
The last couple of years has witnessed a substantial rise in racism, xenophobia and increasingly hostile and hateful sentiments. In this regard, the Presidency focused on social progress, counter gender discrimination, reduce the wage between men and women. Romania has beendetermined to promote the common market and tolerance among the members of the Union.
Important Summits in Romania
During the Presidency, the important summits and conferences related to legislation areheld in Brussels but most of the summits are held in the member country which presides the Council of the European Union.The Romanian Presidency of the Council has provided an opportunity for Romania to host many EU conferences, whichhas improved the image of Romania among other member countries. This platform will open the country for more investment and an influx of European Citizens. During the Presidency, Romania hosted many EU conferences and the important ones are as follows.
Romania hosted the fourth edition of the Startup Europe Summit in its tech hub city of Cluj on 21st March 2019. The digital transformation during the Presidency of Romania is a thing not to be missed. The growth of Romania in the field of technology has been underestimated for years. Currently, Romaniaoften termed as the Silicon Valley. Ithas the fastest broadband internet in the whole EU and for the support and promotion of innovative technology and digitalization, the summit will have fruitful results.
Another major summitwas the “Future of Europe.” Which was summoned on 9th May in Sibiu, a beautiful city in the Transylvania region.
The major outcome of the summit was the demandfrom the member countries to phase out the carbon emissions by 2050. Although some Eastern European countries termed it an ambitious plan but it was a step forward in limiting the carbon emissions. The Summit has attracted a great deal of attention from across Europe especially from countries like Germany, France, and Sweden.
In the context of regional connectivity and EU enlargement of the Eastern European countries, Romania is also going to host the annual forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, on 27-28th June in Bucharest.By taking advantage of this opportunity, Romania will be more focused on the regional connectivity and cohesion of the Union.That is the reason The motto of the forum “Building cohesion for shared prosperity in the Danube Region” has been selected for this year.
The tourism industry has flourished in Romania, although the increase was just 4.1% in 2018 compared to 2017. But the number will surely increase at the end of this year as Romania is going to host several important summits in the latter half of the year. Direct flight to and from Romania has made the traveling convenient but after officially joining the Schengen Zone will put tourist business on a new trajectory.
The Presidency was proof that Romania is an honest member of the EU and a serious contender of getting the permanent member of Schengen Zone.In December 2018 during a conference in Belgium,Prime Minister VioricaDancilaendorsed that Romania is ready to play its leading role in the EU and will continue to strengthen European values. Romania has presided the Council at the time when the number of main events were going on in the Union like Britain exit from the Union, the European Parliamentary Election and important legislation on the Financial Framework of the Union. But Romania has managed the Presidency confidently for six months.
Bylooking at the role of the Presidency of Romania, it has been proved that Romania has kept the consistency with the priorities set by its predecessor i.e. Austria. Romania will leave the Presidency at the end of June with solid priorities to its second member of trio i.e. Finland.
Conclusion:
During the Presidency, Romania has been committed to the priorities which it has set at the start of its Presidency. The best thing is that Romania has been consistent with the priorities set by the predecessor Austria (July- December 2018), such as the advocacy of more integrated Union, climate policy and security of the European citizens. Having the Presidency, Romania progressed in the areas like cohesive and more integrated Union, common values, climate policy, common agriculture policy, the security of the European citizens and the Union as a strong global actor.
In the context of the Presidency,Romanian Prime MinisterVioricaDancilastressed in her address to the Parliament in December 2018that this opportunity will play acrucial role in promoting strong European Romania.Although Romania has had a satisfactory time during its Presidency but the dream of Romania’s accession to Schengen Zone remained elusive. Even though in January 2019, President Klaus Iohannisreiteratedthat getting access to the Schengen Zone is a priority for Romania. On the number of occasions, President of EC Jaen-Claude Junckeralso repeatedly said that Romania is a natural part of the zone. But the fact is, that the question of taking Romania into Schengen Zone has, to a greater extent, been jeopardized by the issue of Brexit and the election of European Parliament.The issue of Brexit and Parliamentary Election dominated the debate in Council in the first half of the year. The Brexit deal was delayed twice, once in March and then in April and now the final procedure will be held in October. Another major European event i.e. the European Parliament,was held in Romania on 26th May.
Despite all the uncertainty in the EU, handling the Council successfully in such times is quite an achievement for a country like Romania. At the end of the Presidency, the main obligation of the country is to hand over the Council’s work with the continuation of the EU agenda to the successive member. In this regard, Romania is going to leave the Presidency at the end of June to its successive member i.e. Finland.
The author is Research Assistant at the Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), a think tank based in Islamabad. He holds Masters Degree in International Relations.
