PRESS INFORMATION
A delegation of the Ministry for Business Environment, Commerce and Entrepreneurship headed by Minister Ştefan-Radu Oprea attended an informal meeting in Geneva on 9-10 July, on the preparation of the European Union Council’s Romanian Presidency.
“Holding the Presidency of the European Union Council in the first half of 2019 represents an extraordinary opportunity for Romania to prove that it is a competitive partner for the EU countries. We use every opportunity to prepare for this moment that can bring real benefits to the Romanian economy, the Romanian business environment, both from the point of view of internationalization of business and attraction of foreign investments and the creation of a country image corresponding to the true value of Romania. It is up to us, the local business community, to get the best results in these first 6 months of 2019,” said Minister Oprea.
The agenda of the Romanian delegation included meetings with Allan Wolf, Deputy Director of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and with Mark Vanheukelen, Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Geneva, with a view to prepare the work of the WTO during the Council of the European Union’s Romanian Presidency. The Ministry for Business Environment, Commerce and Entrepreneurship Delegation to Geneva also paid a visit to the Romania’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva and International Organizations based in Switzerland.
Trade will play an important role during the Presidency as a result of international trade developments in the context of the multilateral trading system’s volatility, and the role of the Ministry for Business Environment, Commerce and Entrepreneurship is to ensure the continuity and fulfillment of the EU’s international trading related commitments.
Thus, the Romanian Minister reiterated, within the meetings, the priorities under the responsibility of the Ministry for Business Environment, Commerce and Entrepreneurship to be promoted during the EU Council presidency. Among these, special attention is being given to maintaining the European Union’s proactive approach to preserving commitments and involving other important WTO members in promoting an ambitious negotiation agenda calibrated to recent trade developments. In this respect, Minister Oprea said that “Maintaining the functions of the negotiating and regulating trade dispute organization through the functionality of the WTO Appellate Body is a fundamental issue for the credibility and relevance of the multilateral trading system.”
Between January and June 2019, Romania will chair over 130 coordinating and weekly meetings of EU delegations to the World Trade Organization. Negotiations on fisheries subsidies, on internal trade rules on services, on investment development and on trade in agricultural products will also be boosted as of the first half of 2019, with a view to the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in the first half of 2020.
Press Office
Ministry for the Business Environment, Commerce and Entrepreneurship