Ten years after Romania’s accession to the European Union, the European Institute of Romania proposes to the general audience a consistent paper concerning the main benefits of Romania’s integration in the European Community area. The current Report, with the topic “Romania – 10 years in the European Union”, is part of the EIR microstudies series and was coordinated by Professor Gabriela Drăgan, Director General of the European Institute of Romania, and elaborated the Studies and Analyses Unit: Oana Mocanu, Bogdan Mureșan, Eliza Vaș and Mihai Sebe.
The paper benefited from the overall support of Romania’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and the topic-based contributions EIR has received from the line ministries in the last quarter of 2016.
The importance of the Report is underlined by Ms. Gabriela Drăgan that states the fact that: “10 years after accession, the European integration projects remains a strategic one for Romania and linked intrinsically to the internal project of long term development. In this framework, assuring the EU Council Presidency in the first semester of 2019 represents a test that Romania has the capacity to well prepare and to conclude with a «very well» grade”.
Starting with the historical component represented by the first steps towards Romania’s accession to the European Union we reach to the regional and global context and the Romanian citizens’ perception as regards the European Union.
We notice, on a general basis, that between the 2007 accession and the current moment, few disturbing events have diminished Romanians’ trust in the European Union, their enthusiasm to support an accelerated European integration having both a social-economic motivation and one based on the feeling of belonging to the European community of values. Ten years after accession, Romanians’ trust in the European Union continues to be above the European average (52% vs. 36%).
Romania’s membership in the European Union has meant, first and above all, a series of mutual advantages, both for the new Member State and for the community it has joined. Romania’s benefits of the European Union accession are obvious as the EU accession contributed to the increase of trade flows with the European partners, the strengthening of the direct foreign investments and the stimulation of entrepreneurship.
Romania as a Member State is directly interested in the future of the European Union. It is essential to maintain the European Union and the major projects of integration with a defining character (Single Market with the 4 liberties, Euro, Schengen) and the continuation of the integration in a pragmatic manner, in regards with the European citizens’ and the society as a whole expectations.
Romania wishes to substantially contribute to the talks regarding the future of the EU. We must ensure that, no matter what the envisaged solutions are, they correspond to Romania’s objectives, that its major interests – economic growth, convergence, cohesion, etc. – are well reflected at the EU level.
The report is fully available at http://ier.ro/stiri/raport-ier-rom%C3%A2nia-%E2%80%93-10-ani-%C3%AEn-uniunea-european%C4%83.html (only in Romanian language).
The article was first published in the EIR Newsletter, no. 85 – May 2017.
