Future EU budget discussed in Romania

The participants will consider better ways of  using available funds to level development differences between various EU regions. During the debate, we will attempt to define the role of the future EU budget in stimulating the Union's economic growth as it struggles to cope with the financial crisis.
 
The Presidency wants to hear the opinions of all the parties involved in the negotiations: the European Commission, Member States and the European Parliament. Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski will unveil the European Commission’s proposals, while Romania's position will be presented by Finance Minister Gheorghe Ialomiţeanu, Regional Development and Tourism Minister Elena Udrea and former Romanian Commissioner Leonard Orban. The Polish Presidency, represented at the conference by Regional Development Deputy Minister Waldemar Sługocki, will review the present state of debate on the subject, acting on the assumption that the process of negotiations now under way will yield a compromise, allowing the Union to effectively implement its policies over the next several years.
 
An international panel of experts, composed of top analysts, will appraise the European Commission proposals and will discuss the relationship between the the EU budget and national budgets,  the latter being subject to stiff restrictions in the time of crisis.
 
The Presidency's partners in organising the conference are the Romanian European Institute and the Representation of the European Commission in Bucharest.
 
Live coverage of the conference will be available from 9.00 a.m. local time (8.00 a.m. in Poland) at: http://www.caleaeuropeana.ro.