Starting January 1, 2019, Romania is taking over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first time since its EU accession. As mentioned by the Prime Minister Viorica D?ncil? at the plenary session of the Parliament in December 2018, "taking over the presidency will allow Romania to play a role of facilitator of balance and consensus and to continue promoting a consensual approach based on unity, cohesion and solidarity".

The Romanian presidency published a short document (and videos) outlining their priorities for their presidency for on the following themes: "Europe of convergence, A safer Europe, Europe as a stronger global actor and Europe of common values".

Europe of convergence – Main objectives:

• taking forward the negotiation process on the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework.
• developing the EU social dimension, through the enforcement of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
• advancing the EU agenda in the economic and financial fields, in order to stimulate growth and investment, to deepen the Economic and Monetary Union, as well as to support structural reforms.
• promoting research and innovation, digitalization and connectivity, in order to increase the competitiveness of the European economy and industry.

Further information is available on the Presidency official website.

The presidency of the Council of the EU. Member states holding the presidency work together closely in groups of three, called 'trios'. This system was introduced by the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. The trio sets long-term goals and prepares a common agenda determining the topics and major issues that will be addressed by the Council over an 18 month period. On the basis of this programme, each of the three countries prepares its own more detailed 6-month programme.

The current trio is made up of the presidencies of the Romania, Finland and Croatia.