Romania takes its turn in holding the presidency of the Council of the EU

Romania will hold the presidency of the Council of the EU for the first time since it joined the EU, from January to June 2019. This opens the trio of presidencies composed also of Finland and Croatia, and it will be the final presidency acting throughout the current legislative cycle of the European Parliament. During the semester, Bucharest will be charged with sealing agreements on a number of key policy issues, before May’s European Parliament election - as well as presiding over the UK’s departure from the EU. The upcoming months will shape the future of the EU, lengthy negotiations being foreseen on the EU long-term budget for 2021-2027. Romania’s presidency will also have to ensure the transitions at EU institutional level and wrap up the debate on the future of Europe, to be concluded with the Europe Day 2019 Summit in Sibiu.