From 1 January to 30 June 2019, Romania will hold the six-month rotating Presidency of the European Union. Romania is in close coordination with the Trio EU Presidencies of Finland (July-December 2019) and Croatia (January-June 2020).

This is the first mandate for Romania. It will have the possibility to imprint its national vision on the strategic debates concerning the future of the European project, to directly contribute to the process for its consolidation, and to promote parts of the European agenda which the country finds important.

Romania’s government has been accused of seeking to turn the clock back on years of democratic reforms as it prepares to take charge of the European Union’s rotating presidency for the first time on 1 January.

The European commission warned the government in November that it was backtracking on progress made since joining the EU in 2007, while the European parliament passed a resolution voicing “deep concerns” at legislation that has the potential to weaken the rule of law.

MEPs also condemned “the violent and disproportionate intervention by police” in Bucharest in August, when police used water cannons and teargas to disperse anti-corruption protesters, as reported by The Guardian.