Tourism is a Priority for the Romanian Presidency of the EU
18/01/2019

Tourism is a Priority for the Romanian Presidency of the EU

    18/01/2019

 

From January to June 2019, for the first time in its history, the Council of the European Union will be chaired by Romania.

A Key-semester. As underlined by the President of the European Parliament, Mr Antonio Tajani, on the occasion of the official launch of the Romanian Presidency, Romania "will have the task of guiding the work of the Council of the Union in the months leading up to the European elections and the emergence of new leaders of our institutions at a time when public calls for a more effective Europe are becoming ever more insistent."

Tourism is a strategic priority. As it is written in the Programme of the Presidency (p. 39), "Tourism should be more visible on the EU agenda. Particular attention should be paid to promoting measures to better integrate this sector into a wide range of EU policies, sustainable and responsible tourism, as well as high-quality services, which may translate into competitive advantages for companies, in particular for SMEs, and, at the same time, into tangible benefits for the European consumers.

A Tourism Working Group will be activated and a Ministerial conference “Sustainable Tourism – Common Policies of EU Member States” will take place on the 2nd of April.

Priorities. Romania decided to articulate the programme of its presidency among 4 priorities:

  • Europe of Convergence
  • A Safer Europe
  • Europe, A Stronger Global Actor
  • Europe of Common Values

 

The NECSTouR vision for the whole year 2019 is especially in line with the first two pillars.

The new MFF. In line with the words of Pres. Tajani - "we want a budget which boosts investment in the real economy" - NECSTouR will be more than ever at the forefront of European Tourism Policy, lobbying to strengthen the presence of more budget for Sustainable Tourism in the next 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and to gather experiences and promote initiative at Regional Level to stimulate growth and investment for a Competitive and Sustainable Tourism, as a fundamental driver for the whole European Economy.

Safety has been also identified by the Members of NECSTouR as one of the "Five S" to be prioritised in the NECSTouR Strategy for the period 2019-2021. Moreover, NECSTouR will work hard to promote the thematic area "Digitalisation and Safety for Tourism", developed under the Smart Specialisation Platform for Industrial Modernisation (S3P-Industry), by the some of its member Regions  and several activities are in the pipeline.

Riverside Tourism. As stated in the Programme of the Presidency (p. 43) "A detailed understanding of the interactions between the Black Sea and the river which flow into it is of crucial importance for the scientific substantiation of integrated management plans." Thought the STAR Cities Project (Sustainable Tourism for Attractivity of Riverside Cities), NECSTouR will work in partnership with the Romanian Ministry of Tourism "to maximise the potential provided by the Black Sea region" through Sustainable Tourism activities.

 

NECSTouR wishes all the best to the Romanian Government for this semester and is ready to strength its cooperation with the Romanian Regions and the Romanian government, in order to further develop the European Tourism Policy!

 

Romanian Presidency of the EU Council
Programme of the Presidency
Pres. Tajani Speech

 

(photo by www.romania2019.eu)