A delegation from COMECE, together with CEC and CROCEU, went to Bucharest on 28 January 2019 to meet Teodor-Viorel Meleșcanu, Foreign Affairs Minister of Romania, on the priorities of the Romanian EU Council Presidency.
(Credit: COMECE-CEC)
Led by H.E. Mgr. Cornel Damian, Auxiliary Bishop of Bucharest, and Fr . Olivier Poquillon op, General Secretary of COMECE, the delegation presented a joint reflection elaborated with the Romanian Bishops’ Conference on the four priorities of the Romanian Presidency: 1) a more social Europe in a digital age; 2) solidarity, freedom and security; 3) EU as a global actor; 4) and human dignity, fundamental rights and democracy.
Romania holds the Council Presidency in a time of significant changes affecting the future of the EU as well as different spheres of our personal and societal life. The upcoming institutional transitions, together with digitalisation and demographic winter, are leaving citizens not only with fears and uncertainties but also with expectations and hopes.
COMECE encouraged the Romanian Presidency to put the human person back at the centre of all political processes and technological developments. In order to give young people and families the opportunity to fully express their talents and aspirations in their local communities, the EU should promote a vision of decent, sustainable and participative work for all.
The meeting also gave the opportunity to articulate the legitimate concern of European citizens about their cybersecurity while stressing that the rule of law and fundamental rights should be the cornerstone of any policy measure in this regard.
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership, the COMECE delegation proposed to launch a reflection on the future priorities for a fair, responsible and people-centred cooperation between the EU and its neighbors, while maintaining the momentum for a credible EU Enlargement perspective for the Western Balkan countries.
The open and transparent dialogue between Churches and the respective EU Council Presidencies is part of a long-standing practice now supported by the Article 17(3) TFEU.
In the margins of this meeting, Fr. Poquillon op participated in an audience with His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and exchanged on Churches’ role in the EU with Victor Opaschi, Romanian Secretary of State for Religious Cults.
Media
Photo of the event – 1
Photo of the event – 2
