EP Conference of Presidents and Antonio TAJANI, EP President, meet with Klaus IOHANNIS, President of Romania, in Bucharest. Arrivals and roundtable

TAJANI, Antonio (EPP, IT)

meeting

EU - Romania (T)

IOHANNIS, Klaus (RO)

Bucharest

Romanian Presidency of the EU (T)

EP Conference of Presidents and Antonio TAJANI, EP President, meet with Klaus IOHANNIS, President of Romania: arrivals and roundtable - statement by Antonio Tajani

<p>Antonio TAJANI, EP President is welcomed by Klaus IOHANNIS, President of the Republic of Romania (handshake and photo opportunity - 2 shots)</p>

Antonio TAJANI, EP President signs the Golden Book (7 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, Thank you for this meeting. As you know we are ready for a good cooperation with your country in the next 6 months from the beginning of 2019. During the Romanian Presidency we will have European Elections and for this is important to send good messages to the European citizens on the content of our work. You are very important for us because you are not only, as I said during the meeting before, not only the President of the Republic of Romania, but you are also an important member of the European Council. We need your help on two or three crucial points for the European Parliament.

SOUNDBITE (English), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, First of all, there is an agreement on Brexit among the 27 Member States in the European institutions, we are supporting the work of our negotiator Michel Barnier, but I think we need to work hard to defend the three most important points for the European Parliament: citizen rights, the MFF of 2014-2020 and the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. But we also need your help on the package on immigration. We need to achieve an agreement with the Council on the Dublin reform.

SOUNDBITE (English), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, For us it's important Mr. President also to underline the importance of the next MFF. You want to increase the money for the EU budget from 1.1 to 1.3, not by asking more money from the Member States but through you own resources. It's very important for us that last week the European Parliament voted a proposal on the MFF also on the content.

SOUNDBITE (English), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, For us it's crucial to send positive messages, our work is to reduce the distance between the European citizens and the European institutions, we are the only one institution elected by the European citizens. Our job is to work close to the citizens.

SOUNDBITE (English), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, We need to change Europe, but it should be a mistake to kill the European Union. It is the only one institution able to protect the people living in this continent during the global competition with China, Russia, India, the USA. We need to be united with good and democratic institutions, we want more power for the European Parliament. 