Radio România Internațional

Tag: progress

  • The benefits of Romania’s belonging in the EU

    The benefits of Romania’s belonging in the EU

    In January Romania marked 17 years of EU membership. In the same month an INSCOP poll showed that 9 out of 10 Romanians are against the idea that their country should get out of the community bloc, as compared to 72% in January 2022. Entitled “Romania between national and European in the misinformation era. Economic Patriotism, values and conspiracy”, the survey, ordered by Funky Citizens organization, has revealed a 67% trust rate in the European Union as compared to 56% in January 2022. The aforementioned survey was the first conducted after the shock caused by the cancellation of the presidential election in December last year.

    As if to respond to those who denigrate community institutions, who aren’t few nowadays, the Romanian Minister of Investment and European Projects, Marcel Bolos, writes on Facebook: “In a time when extremist voices are trying to downplay the benefits of Romania’s belonging in the European Union, let’s not forget that development is not an issue of naïve pride, but of pragmatism. Romania didn’t grow out of nothing; it didn’t change overnight and certainly didn’t develop by denying opportunities.”

    Since its accession, Bolos says, Romania has got over 100 billion Euros in European funds, gross value. And this is the engine that has fundamentally changed the structure of our economy, the minister says. According to him, Romania no longer relies on a peripheral economy, being a country that is rapidly bridging gaps and which has overcome Poland, Hungary, Croatia and Greece in terms of the GDP per capita, which is an essential indicator for the standard of living.

    “Figures are extremely relevant; the value of the investment made is nearly equal to the GDP at the time of accession. If we are unaware of this we tend to blame the European bloc, but the fact that we are presently at the highest level of our development, is something that we owe to our EU and NATO membership”, Minister Bolos also says.

    According to him, the European funds Romania received are reflected in the country’s infrastructure, with nearly 900 kilometers of motorways and roads built in the past two decades. Over two million Romanians have been connected to the water & sewerage networks and according to Minister Bolos, over 100 thousand companies have benefitted from development grants, thousands of schools and hospitals have been refurbished, fitted with proper equipment and enlarged. Stable jobs have been created and fresh investment made.

    All these have given an impetus to the economy and the annual pace of the private investment in the economy tripled in 2024 as compared to the time of accession from 20 billion Euros to 70 billion, Bolos says.

    He believes that without European money, Romania would have remained stuck into an endless cycle of underdevelopment, being dependent on a national budget, which is insufficient for strategic development. “There is one reality only: the EU has been our partner in development. And by belonging in the European bloc, Romania has opted for progress”, Minister Boloş’ post says.

    (bill)

  • Will the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism be lifted?

    Will the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism be lifted?

    Admitted into the European Union on January 1, 2007, Romania has remained, until today, a potential member with problems of the community structures. The partners from Brussels have always suspected the various governments from Bucharest, regardless of their avowed ideology and the characters, long-lived or ephemeral, who led them, of trying to circumvent the principles of the rule of law, subordinate the magistrates and stop the anti-corruption fight. The establishment, from the moment of accession, of the so-called Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), was an instrument through which the European officials could monitor the reforms in the field of Romanian justice.



    After almost 16 years, the European Commission considers that the progress made is sufficient to abandon the CVM. As to the three laws recently promulgated by President Klaus Iohannis – on the status of judges and prosecutors, on the organization of the judiciary and on the Superior Council of the Magistracy respectively – the European Commission considers that the opinion issued, in emergency procedure, by the Venice Commission shows that, all in all, things seem to be moving in the right direction.



    The positive elements mentioned are related, among others, to the appointment of high-ranking prosecutors, to the guarantees provided against political interference in the activity of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate – DNA or the clear limitation of the powers of the general prosecutor regarding the DNA and DIICOT — the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and terrorism. The Commission announces that it will continue to closely monitor the revision process of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, but notes that, so far, progress has been made.



    As seen from Brussels, the National Integrity Agency continues to show efficiency. Brussels also noted positive results as regards the investigation and sanctioning of high-level corruption. All in all, the Commission believes that, in the future, Romania must be subject to the same mechanism that applies to all member states and that links the granting of European money to the compliance with the rule of law. Procedurally, the Commissions evaluation is only a stage. The final decision on lifting the monitoring of the Romanian judiciary depends on the opinion of the Council, which includes the 27 member states, and on that of the European Parliament.



    For the moment, though, the political class in Bucharest has rejoiced. Romania, President Iohannis claims, has demonstrated political will and, above all, a strong support of the citizens to correct any deviation from a democratic path and to quickly resume reforms. The authorities in Bucharest remain firmly anchored in the pro-European vision, based on unity, democracy and the rule of law – the Liberal leader of the coalition government, Nicolae Ciucă also said. “The Iohannis regime does not escape European monitoring” – believes, however, the opposition USR leader, Cătălin Drulă, who recalls that developments in the country will be evaluated through the general mechanism, applicable to all EU member states. (LS)