Basescu: Dancila cannot be invited to European Council Summit in Sibiu, but invited to reception

Bucharest, May 4 /Agerpres/ - PMP senator Traian Basescu, the former president of Romania, said on Saturday that Premier Viorica Dancila would not be invited to attend the European Council Summit in Sibiu, taking into account the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty, but she can be invited to the reception and presented by President Klaus Iohannis, with a brief laudatio, to the other members of the European Council. "There is lack of knowledge about the European Union in the public space. Journalists and politicians are lamenting that Ms. Dancila has not yet been invited to Sibiu. Folks, she will not be invited either to the works of the European Council for the following reasons: 1. During each rotating presidency, an informal European Council is organized in the country holding the Presidency of the European Union. This time it is Romania - Sibiu (I participated in 19 such informal Councils during the 10 years of activity in the European Council). 2. According to the Treaty of Lisbon, each member state has one seat in the European Council, a place reserved for the one that, under the national Constitution, has the mandate of representing the country, in this case President Iohannis. The European Council also includes the President of the European Commission and the Permanent President of the European Council," Traian Basescu wrote in a post on his Facebook page. He points out that in this case, Premier Dancila and President Iohannis preside over two European institutions with completely different attributions, and the prime minister cannot be invited to the European Council works at the informal Summit in Sibiu, but she can be invited to the reception organized on its sidelines and presented to the other members of the European Council. According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the summit of 9 May, dedicated to the future of the European Union and the future strategic agenda of the leaders for the period 2019-2024, will bring together the heads of state and Government of the EU member states in Sibiu, 36 official delegations, 400 high-ranking guests, about 900 journalists and 100 translators. AGERPRES (RO - editor: Marius Fratila; EN - author/editor: Bogdan Gabaroi)