The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Țoiu, stated that Romania supports the position of the European Parliament regarding the budget proposed by the European Commission for the period 2028-2034.
“We support the position of the European Parliament, which calls for greater involvement as they are the only ones directly elected by citizens,” Ţoiu said in an interview with RFI Romania.
She emphasized that Romanian MEPs collaborate “even across parties” to defend national interests and praised their openness in negotiations: “This is their way of working on important issues for Romania, and it is something we appreciate.”
The EU Budget, a Challenge for Romania
The Minister warned that the new structure of the EU budget raises questions for Romania.
“We see a challenge ahead for Romania because this new approach that links financial allocations to achieving objectives ties this to results and reforms,” Ţoiu said.
She pointed out that Romania has lost funds in the past due to the difficulty of meeting the required pace of reforms: “This does not mean we oppose financial allocations based on results, but we need to be realistic.”
Decrease in Agriculture Budget, a Warning Sign
Oana Țoiu also expressed dissatisfaction with the decrease in funds for agriculture.
“In agriculture, news that is not at all encouraging for us is that the total budget allocated to the field of agriculture has been reduced,” Ţoiu said.
She clarified that the discussions currently refer to the total EU budget and not the exact amounts allocated to Romania.
However, the Foreign Minister welcomed the inclusion of the social component in all budget lines. “An encouraging thing, to also deliver some good news (...) is that now we see the social cross-cutting component in the allocation financial lines,” Ţoiu emphasized.
Complex Negotiations Ahead, Involving Multiple Ministries
Ţoiu specified that the European Commission's proposal is now entering the negotiation phase, and Romania will have an active inter-ministerial team in Brussels.
“We have our team from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for example, they will be directly in Brussels tomorrow to discuss this further. We also have the Minister of Agriculture involved, and the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of European Funds, Ministry of Finance. It is a negotiation that will continue on each of these levels,” Ţoiu added.
She also stressed the need for additional clarifications from the Commission: “There are many detailed elements missing at this moment, and they are necessary in the next stage of negotiations.”
The Minister concluded by reaffirming support for greater involvement of MEPs in the decision-making process.
“We work together with MEPs, and again, we support their position of being more involved in this negotiation process, and it is not just Romania's position. The leaders of the political families in the European Parliament have jointly signed a strong letter requesting this. And at home, the relationship between the Executive and the Parliament needs improvements, and this is also the case in Brussels,” Oana Ţoiu concluded.