Category: The Future Starts Today

The anniversary of 75 years of existence found NATO in a context of international turmoil – the war in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East, but also the revival of terrorism. The challenges are complex and varied, with the Alliance having to be prepared to respond to cyberattacks, disinformation, and campaigns designed to undermine the stability of its members. Hybrid threats, which combine military, political, economic, and informational elements, are a major problem. ‘It’s a critical moment, let’s remember why NATO was founded’ – journalist Cătălin Lența commented for Euronews.

‘It was founded as an attempt to find an adequate response, a military one, if necessary, to external threats. We recall that after World War II, the United States was already less friendly to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. And this alliance emerged in order to counter possible military actions of the USSR in Europe. Where are we today? Unfortunately, in much the same situation. An attempt to counter Russian aggression in Europe. And we have been seeing this aggression since 2014, when Russia illegally annexed Crimea, and 10 years have passed since then. We saw it in 2022, in February, when it invaded Ukraine and conquered quite a large area, about a sixth of the territory of Ukraine. We see it every day through Russia’s extremely bellicose and vindictive statements towards Poland, the Baltic states, Romania, and Bulgaria. Less towards Hungary, which still maintains good relations with Moscow’, Cătălin Lența points out.

The North Atlantic Alliance stood up to the Warsaw Pact staunchly, and continuously adapted to the security challenges that have not stopped appearing, says the vice-president of the Euro-Atlantic Center for Resilience, Air Flotilla General in reserve Adrian Duţă, referring to NATO’s role in the last 75 years of peace

“NATO not only adapted to the threats imposed by the Soviet Union, but was also able to develop based on the fact that the member states, the partner states, shared the same values and the same interests. As you know, the Alliance has grown from 12 states initially to 32 today, and the particularly complex security environment of the last period and the challenges we have to face every day are so much more. That’s why countries like Sweden and Finland, after many years of neutrality, decided very quickly to apply for NATO integration.”

Predictably, Ukraine and its support in the face of Russian aggression dominated the celebration of the 75 years of existence of the North Atlantic Alliance, especially in the context of maintaining Moscow’s military pressure, and against the background of the slowdown in Western military support. Currently, the allies are analyzing a financial framework of 100 billion dollars that would allow NATO to maintain the defense of Ukraine, in the perspective of a possible win by Donald Trump in the American elections. Some of the allies also announced financial support for the Czech initiative to buy armaments from third countries in order to increase the volume of deliveries to Kiev. The best defense is attack, for us the best defense is deterrence and that’s when we all decided, with our leaders, in Vilnius, almost a year ago, to come up with a new generation of NATO defense and deterrence plans, including in Romania, declared the deputy secretary general of NATO, Mircea Geoană, invited to Radio Romania on April 2. This was the very day on which Romania’s accession to the North Atlantic Alliance became 20 years old:

“We do not exclusively mount a much stronger defense, military presence, last generation military technology, but we are actually making a gesture of deterrence, also because Russia knows what we have as a military force. And that’s why, if needed, obviously we will activate Article 5, but we still hope that Article 5 will not be needed. It was activated only once, when America was attacked on September 11, 2001. There has never been war on NATO territory. There has never been a war on NATO territory in 75 years. And I believe that this beautiful history of NATO will continue for many decades.”

For the Romanian Army, the period between the exit from totalitarianism and the NATO summit in Prague in 2002 meant an extensive process of reforms and modernization that would allow it to align with the Alliance’s standards. Once Romania became a full member of NATO, Romanian soldiers tested their mettle in theaters of operations, alongside armies with which they are now fully compatible. In these 20 years, about 50,000 Romanian soldiers were engaged in the theaters of operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Western Balkans. Currently, Romania is a military base of the Alliance, with the strategic anti-missile shield at Deveselu (south), the Kogălniceanu airport (southeast), and the training centers in Transylvania (center). With the war in Ukraine, Bucharest gained strategic recognition in the geopolitical game, demonstrating that the Black Sea area should not be forgotten by world powers, as Romania has constantly warned, alongside allies such as Poland, the Czech Republic, or the Baltic states. Compared to 20 years ago, Romania is a security provider, a provider of aid to Ukraine, a training center for future F-16 pilots from Kiev and a main actor in the attempt to demine the Black Sea, and there is an international NATO military presence on the country’s territory.

Jens Stoltenberg will step down as NATO secretary general in September. One candidate to replace him is the 57-year-old Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, who has made a bid for it for some time. He has the backing of a number of important states like the United States, Great Britain, Germany and France. But it’s not all over yet, because the job, which has to go to a candidate from Europe, needs the unanimous votes of all the 32 NATO member states. Following requests from the countries in Eastern Europe to share in the top positions within the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union, the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, whose second five-year term will come to an end this autumn, on 12th March launched his bid to become NATO secretary general. As arguments in his favour he cited a deep understanding of the challenges facing NATO and Romania’s performance as a NATO member. Estonia’s prime minister Kaja Kallas also showed an interest in the position of NATO secretary general. Political advisor and expert on global policies Radu Magdin considered the chances each candidate has to win the top NATO job:

“Having the backing of the United States naturally counts a lot, beyond the official processes. In my view, the United States is already in Mark Rutte’s team, also owing to an excellent bilateral relationship. I believe The Netherlands enjoys three key bilateral relationships that are very helpful at this point: its historical relationship with the Americans, and the relationship with the British and the Germans. So, it has three basic alliances in this respect. Romania enjoys the respect of these states, but in my view it does not have the same level of gravitas as The Netherlands. Mark Rutte is not to Hungary’s liking, but then Hungary generally likes to be in opposition, whether it’s in the European Union or NATO. The Hungarian partners can be useful to Iohannis, in the sense that they can keep Rutte busy for a while, but let us not forget that, just like in Europe, if the Americans or other important partners really want Rutte and there’s a big majority for Rutte, it’s unlikely that a state like Hungary can resist. Until a few months ago, Estonia’s prime minister Kaja Kallas was a strong candidate for any top NATO or European job. I think she conducted a great campaign for what we call top leadership. She positioned herself through op-eds, interviews, etc. She was a strong and charismatic voice representing Eastern Europe. Unfortunately for her, she was caught up in a domestic scandal that also spilled out internationally and which is partially undermining her candidacy. There might also appear other candidates. In my view, NATO is not the kind of organisation that tolerates competition. Being a security structure and owing to the current context, it’s not like it will host a kind of Eurovision contest to see who sings better. So, I believe that in the coming period, in Brussels, the Americans and other allies will try to shut down this competition as fast as possible, so as to demonstrate its quick decision-making and acting abilities.”

When his candidacy was announced, president Klaus Iohannis also enumerated the country’s good points in the competition, among which the fact that Romania was a pillar of stability and security in the region. President Iohannis emphasized the fact Romania earmarked 2.5% of its GDP for defense, also highlighting Romania’s contribution to NATO missions and operations as well as the military presence in the West Balkans, but also the contributions to maintaining security in the Black Sea region.

Eastern Europe’s contributions to the decisions taken inside NATO were valuable, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis also stated. Iohannis went on to say the Alliance would take the best possible decisions with a balanced, strong and influential representation from this region.

However, the political analyst believes, “it is hard for president Iohannis to have a serious leverage at the negotiations table”. Also, Radu Magdin believes the president is “undermined” by his own failure to invest in Romania’s image and influence in the last decade. Concurrently, Radu Magdin voiced his doubt that such an advanced candidacy as that of the Dutch Mark Rutte could be “derailed”.

Notwithstanding, political analyst Cristian Pîrvulescu believes Romanian president Klaus Iohannis’s chances are “very good”. According to Cristian Parvulescu, “President Iohannis is a politician who makes his calculations, who does not expose himself uselessly, who prepares his moves. He can be quite aptly compared to a chess player, not to an amateur, but to a grand master. And this move he makes, immediately after the meeting he had with the president of Montenegro could be a sign of the fact that the coalition meant to support him is strong enough, it is a coalition made of Central and Eastern-European states. “Do bear in mind, Parvulescu also recalls, Hungary’s blunt declarations against Mark Rutte, the declarations of leaders of the Baltic States or Poland, who support the necessity of an Eastern leadership at NATO and European level. All that proves a confrontation between the East and the West is likely to occur, which is something nobody wants, but when the East comes up with a strong official candidacy, and a candidacy of a leader who is recognized at European level, I believe President Iohannis’ chances are very good.”

President Klaus Iohannis’s possible appointment could mark a historic stage, since Iohannis could be the first East-European to be appointed for the Alliance’s highest-ranking position. At present, Romania has a high-ranking representation at NATO since October 2019, when Mircea Geoana was appointed Deputy Secretary General of the Alliance.

Artificial intelligence (AI ) is defined as ‘the ability of a system to correctly interpret external data, learn from such data, and use what it has learned to achieve specific goals and tasks through flexible adaptation’. It involves the development of algorithms and models that enable machines to perceive and reason about their environment and take appropriate actions. These algorithms use large volumes of data and advanced techniques such as machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, and computer vision. Founded as an academic discipline in 1956, artificial intelligence is increasingly present, and its benefits are undeniable. These can range from better healthcare to more efficient manufacturing processes, from safer and cleaner transport to cheaper and more sustainable energy sources. For companies, AI can facilitate, for example, the development of a new generation of products and services and improve workplace safety, as robots can perform dangerous tasks. Artificial intelligence, however, comes with negative aspects, such as possible threats to security, democracy, companies, and jobs. Have we reached the point where we fear that artificial intelligence and the tools with which it alters our reality will decide our future? There are voices that claim that this is not out of the question. An example relates to the political sphere, to the possibilities of influencing the electorate, for example through deep-fakes, created using artificial intelligence. University lecturer Dr. Flavia Durach, specialist in the study of disinformation, explains the operating mechanism:

“There are several risks related to deep-fakes. First of all, it is about exacerbating the emotional component, exacerbating certain emotional dispositions at the level of the electorate, which at a given moment may favor a certain candidate or a certain political formation. Because emotional manipulation plays an important role in disinformation, and because it can lead to irrational decisions, to undermining critical thinking, to buy into a certain type of message that has a strong emotional component, for example fear, or this feeling of being scandalized. In terms of election integrity, here we can really have those kinds of situations where a candidate, or the campaign team, or certain actors who have a vested interest can create deep-fakes to discredit the opposing candidates, to create doubt in the minds of the voters. And here, the biggest stake is undecided voters, those who are subject to perhaps cross-pressures from their environment to tilt the vote to one side or the other, they are probably the most susceptible. Deep-fakes by nature have a high potential to be viral, they are easy to track, they usually have all the characteristics of audio-video content with strong virality, so they can spread easily.”

In an attempt to counter such practices, a group of 20 tech companies, including major developers of artificial intelligence software, recently signed an agreement calling for them to combat election disinformation this year. Major signatories include OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta. Finalized at the Munich Security Conference, the agreement includes, in addition to AI companies, some of the most popular social networks. Meta, along with TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), must ensure that any harmful or fake content is removed from their platforms. OpenAI, Microsoft and other AI companies will ensure that they identify AI-generated images, videos and audio, and inform users correctly. The measure agreed by most companies is to label the AI content, mainly through a watermark. It is a good start, believes Flavia Durach:

“However, we must take into account that we also have the experience of less sophisticated fake news during the COVID-19 pandemic, when such promises existed, these labeling measures of content have been taken, but independent studies from think tanks or researchers unaffiliated with these digital platforms have found a host of limitations to these measures. In the sense that a good part of the content that misinforms in those contexts managed to escape undetected by the moderation policies, by the detection measures. Therefore, without knowing the technical aspects, I have a dose of skepticism regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of these measures in the light of previous experiences.”

Specialist in the study disinformation Flavia Durach believes that “In the absence of legislative measures, of regulations established at the national, or supranational level, if we do not base our efforts on some policies for the development of artificial intelligence on ethical bases, and with the minimization of risks, we will not be able to do anything”.

Some important steps have already been taken in this regard at the EU level – the new law on artificial intelligence approved this week in the plenary of the European Parliament provides, among other things, the obligation for developers to state that the sounds, images and texts produced by AI are artificial . It will take some time, however, as the law will become fully applicable 24 months after its entry into force, with a gradual approach.

Three years ago, an aerial photo of camels in the Saudi Arabian Desert at sunset was named one of the best photos of the year by National Geographic. In this image, the camels are small white lines, and the black spots, which are shaped like camels, are just their shadows. The metaphor of this image is that we live in an era in which illusions, shadows, occupy practically the entire field of rational visualization of mankind, while realities, camels, go unseen. Does this metaphor also apply to cybersecurity? This is one of the questions answered by Maria Manuela Catrina, deputy director of the National Cybersecurity Directorate (NCSD), on Radio Romania. Her answer: many things go unseen, but not so unseen in the area of cybersecurity, that is, if we don’t always talk about them, it doesn’t mean we don’t see them, it’s hard at this moment not to realize what is going on.

“Many times, there are automatic systems that immediately notice changes in behavior in a network and help us, so that afterwards the human user comes to see what is happening, how it is happening, etc. Know that if you look carefully at the desert, and look every day, you see things, even when the wind blows. Even if it doesn’t seem like the wind is blowing, you still feel that something is wrong and you dig until you find what’s going on. That’s the beautiful part of cybersecurity – finding those things, feeling the things that are coming. There is an extremely large amount of data, there are tens and tens and tens of signals per second that we analyze, obviously using machines, because we are not able to do this at the human level, and see the ‘camels’. “

According to the latest data, Romania faces approximately 25,000 cyberattacks every day. These have intensified since 2022, and have grown in intensity and complexity from year to year. In February, for example, following ransomware attacks, information was stolen from the Parliament’s database, and the activity of a few dozen hospitals was temporarily affected. The expert in health and national security policies Ioana Stăncel considers that the security of the systems of several public institutions in the country was tested by attackers. She explained that, as far as hospitals are concerned, she is concerned about the fact that personal data, and medical information in particular, were at risk. Ioana Stăncel points out that the responsibility for preventing such incidents rests with all institutions involved:

“Those who collect data and process them through these computer systems, namely hospitals, those who ensure the security of networks, the communications, transmission part, should have thought about this. Those who operate the servers on which there are programs and, not least , the state, which regulates this transfer, and the management of data through cybersecurity tests, should have considered forcing the providers, at the moment they enter into a contract with the state, respectively when they are financed by the state, to have this part of communication remote digital and data processing secured.”

First of all, we are referring to personal data, medical data, data regarding the vulnerabilities of some people, perhaps public figures, who can be blackmailed, who can be affected by finding out some information about their personal life, about their state of health, says Ioana Stăncel.

“It is very serious, because these cyberattacks show us that it is possible to break into the networks of hospitals. And then we can think of at least two other types of risks: changing medical prescriptions, changing medical data in such a way that a person can be in a position to receive a medication that was not intended for them, or in concentrations that are not appropriate for their pathological condition. All of this may affect their state of health or lead to death. On the other hand, it is possible to interfere with the data recorded in connection with services and the financial claims for these services, either deleting data or adding data, all of which affect the accuracy of the data and claims to the state.”

We asked how can we protect ourselves from cyberattacks ? Clearly, at some point, any system can be broken into, says Maria Manuela Catrina:

“There are many things that can happen. The first advice I can give you: install an antivirus program on your phone, on your computer, there are free antivirus programs if you think a paid antivirus is expensive. It certainly protects you from many things that we are not always aware of. Sometimes we are in a hurry, sometimes we are tired, we don’t see well, and we click on something. We do many things that ‘open the door’. First, we are tempted to say far too much about ourselves. Consider that most cybercriminals do social engineering, they create a portrait of you based on what you post on various sites. If you are asked for information, think twice about why you are being asked that information. Why would someone from the power company, for example, call you to ask for your ID data? They have your data, because they have a contract with you. Common sense always protects us from 90% of things, but we have to be careful, not to rush.”

Connecting to a public Wi-Fi network without using a VPN (Virtual Private Network), at a hotel for example, is also very dangerous, says Maria Manuela Catrina. At the same time, the software must be adapted, passwords changed, the home network secured, as well as devices connected to the Internet – phones, tablets, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, doorbells, cameras, children’s toys, adds the deputy director of the NCSD.

The European Union has committed to be carbon neutral by 2050 and has set a first intermediate target for 2030: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels. For the next reference stage – 2040 – the European Commission will aim for a net decrease of 90%. All this considering that extreme phenomena, such as floods, drought, landslides or heat waves are no longer exceptional. We feel them more and more frequently and more intensely, and they are more and more persistent. And the data shows that the past nine years have been the warmest on record since official records began. The climate emergency has been officially decreed, it is confirmed by scientists, and increasingly accepted by civil society, says university professor Mircea Duţu, president of the Ecological University of Bucharest. And he adds – now is the time when, if we act, we can fall within the limits of a sufficient adaptability, one that does not cause major consequences for the current generations, and even harm the future of humanity and the formula of life that currently exists on our planet. Here is Dr. Mircea Duţu:

“Recently, based on the conclusions of the major weather and climate institutes of the world, the World Meteorological Organization officially confirmed that 2023 was by far the hottest year ever recorded, with the average world temperature exceeding by 1.45 degrees Celsius than that of the pre-industrial period. Moreover, last year can be considered a summary of the catastrophes that await us, if we do not act firmly, consistently and immediately. The record of 2023 is expressed on several levels – the average of the related 12 months is largely superior to those of the previous record years, 2016 and 2020, which were already 1.29 degrees Celsius and 1.27 degrees Celsius higher than the average of the pre-industrial era. Every month from June to December broke absolute world temperature records and the plus 1.5 degrees Celsius bar was exceeded on average during the second semester until December’s monthly record of plus 1.78 degrees Celsius compared with the pre-industrial era.”

World leaders promised in 2015 through the Paris Agreement that they would try to limit the long-term increase in temperature to 1.5 degrees – the threshold considered crucial for avoiding a climate catastrophe. But after the record heat of 2023, the year 2024 started pessimistically: never before has a January been so warm and, for the first time, the planet exceeded the 1.5°C warming threshold for 12 consecutive months compared to the pre-industrial era. More precisely, according to data from the European Copernicus Observatory, between February 2023 and January 2024, the global surface air temperature was 1.52°C higher than in the period 1850-1900. Richard Betts, director of studies on the impact of climate change at the British National Meteorological Office said “This does not mean that we have exceeded the 1.5°C threshold set in Paris in 2015 to try to stop global warming and its consequences; for this to happen, this limit would have to be exceeded in a stable way for several decades”. However, there is a red flag. What would concretely mean for humanity to exceed this threshold of 1.5 degrees, what could be the effects? Again, Professor Mircea Duţu:

“Exceeding the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels could trigger reaching and passing over several tipping points, i.e. irreversible state changes of the climate system, which cause effects in cascade. Such benchmarks have already been exceeded in some areas of the globe, and will occur at the planetary level if we do not stop the rise in temperatures to the levels expected in the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) assessments, and officially established by the Paris Agreement. At the level of the concrete consequences, we are talking about chain extinctions in terms of biodiversity, the exhaustion of aquifers, the accelerated melting of glaciers, unbearable heat waves and, finally, the reduction of the surfaces, of the places where you can live normally, where you cannot can still ensure food security and the manifestations of extreme weather phenomena become permanent. According to NASA, areas in Iran, Egypt, Yemen, or Saudi Arabia could become uninhabitable for human beings by 2050.”

In order to reach such a conclusion, explains Professor Mircea Duţu, both the air temperature index and that of the so-called wet thermometer were taken into account, which takes into account the fact that high humidity prevents the body from the sweating necessary to cool down, and at above 35 degrees Celsius the situation becomes fatal.

2024 promises to be a special year, with many elections, which will set the course for Romanian society for the coming years. There will be European, local, legislative and presidential elections, elections with high stakes, because they have the potential to reset Romania’s current political picture. A look at it sets apart the two parties that currently govern, PSD and PNL, and which during this term, a first for Romania, negotiated and respected a swap at the top of the executive. The Social Democrats are now credited with 30%, while the Liberals have 20% of voting intentions. On the other hand, the opposition has many more components. First of all, there is a democratic opposition – formed by the recently established United Right Alliance, which includes the Save Romania Union, the Popular Movement Party, and Forța Dreptei – and the UDMR, which relies, as always, on its ethnic Hungarian voters. Also in opposition we find the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, credited with 19.5% in opinion polls, and which, mainly against the backdrop of economic problems, coagulated around itself other small formations, forming what is defined as the sovereignist pole. There is also a dissident wing of the AUR, S.O.S., of controversial senator Diana Şoşoacă, a formation that seems to have a chance of entering the legislature thanks to the 5 percent it is credited with in the polls. The parties that run on the sovereignist corridor collect about 25% of the votes, a percentage that is likely to increase a little until the elections, while 70-75% of the Romanian society still resonates with political moderation. The start of voting will be in June, with the European Parliament elections.

Sociologist Remus Ștefureac told us about the internal and external context in which this year’s elections are taking place

We have European parliamentary elections, which will influence not only Romania, but the whole of the EU. I think this will reset things a bit, considering the rise of certain currents. One of them is the US presidential elections, which will have an important and extremely sensitive geopolitical dimension for the area in which we live, for the evolution of the conflict in Ukraine, and implicitly for the security climate on which Romania directly depends. And, last but not least, the 2024 elections come after a four-year succession of crises, from the pandemic, to a health crisis, to a crisis of confidence, including a change in the way information is communicated. Practically, after the pandemic, we also witnessed an explosion of everything that means conspiracies, misinformation, collective anguish, doubled by the economic crisis, inflation, an energy crisis, and a terrible security climate. Practically, Romania has not been in such a situation for almost 70 years, with a war on the borders of the country, in which Russia is the main aggressor. All this causes a strong state of anxiety, greatly influences public perception, the fears in society are diversified, even if at the moment they are focused on domestic problems.

The battle will take place very much online. That is, it will be, in one opinion, the first totally digitized campaign, with massive use of social platforms and the media by all parties, says Sebastian Fitzek, specialist in political communication:

Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok – all will become hot areas of confrontation where candidates will invest heavily in targeted promotion and troll armies, sometimes fake news. The campaign themes will generally revolve around the economy, around raising the standard of living, but also on criticism, Fiscal diagnoses will, of course, always be present. It will be a fierce fight between the AUR camp and the other parties, this has already been predicted, so it will be an extremely close fight, with real chances of alternation in government between PNL and PSD. Obviously, both parties that are already morally worn out after the governing in 2023 will probably also make a little room for the USR and this right-wing alliance that just ended recently, and that will seek to enter the government if, above all, the PNL collapse.

At the European level, one of the main themes of the electoral campaigns will certainly be that of migration, points out university professor Adrian Cioroianu, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, also referring to the attacks in Europe in recent years

These leave scars. The feeling that your identity as a society is being diluted, but more than that, that you have a worm in the social body that is gnawing at the apple from the inside, and this worm could be religious extremism, all of that posed a problem that we would not have worried about 20 years ago. And I think that a good part of the success of these sovereignist parties also took into account this issue of immigration, which is talked about a bit more than the normal, mainstream parties, the ones that set the tone of politics in Europe. Forget what happened in the Netherlands, what is happening in northern countries, or, conversely, in southern countries like Italy. Look at the success of Victor Orban in Hungary, or the prime minister of Austria, who still keeps this topic of migration at the forefront. And, at least for a massive segment of society, these themes are successful.

Regarding the elections in Russia, Professor Cioroianu believes that they will not change the landscape much, because the winner is 99% known. Instead, the US election, he says, are so important that they can change not only the situation in America, but in Europe and the Asia-Pacific area equally.

The end of the year 2023 brought Romania and Bulgaria news they had been expecting for almost 13 years – the Council of the European Union unanimously approved the entry – though partial – of the two countries into the Schengen Area of free movement, after Austria lifted its veto. More precisely, as of March 31, 2024, controls at the air and sea borders with the two countries will be lifted. However, Vienna set conditions for its agreement, including the intensification of border controls, investments in infrastructure and the taking in of asylum seekers from Austria, Afghans and Syrians in particular. And, for strengthening border control and combating illegal migration, Romania and Bulgaria will continue to receive substantial financial support, as well as FRONTEX assistance.

The decision was welcomed in Brussels, according to which the integration of the two will make the Schengen Area stronger, because both Romania and Bulgaria have run new pilot programs, which other states are yet to implement, after the Council and the Parliament recently adopted the new Pact on Migration. Another advantage is the fact that the inclusion of Romania and Bulgaria in Schengen will stimulate travel, trade and tourism, which means strengthening the internal market.

For Romanians, access to Schengen Sky will bring three important benefits, pointed out by the MEP Victor Negrescu, also from Brussels. First of all, Romanian citizens will move more easily in other Schengen countries, gaining a right they deserve. This also means that Romanians from the diaspora can return home more easily by air, benefiting from the many existing airports in Romania, many of which are in the process of expansion and modernization. Secondly, Romania will be able to more easily transport essential products to the Schengen area using air transport. This applies to the transport of medicines, emergency transport, the transport of sensitive technical equipment, the transport of parcels or logistic transport with a civil-military component.

And thirdly, Romania will become more attractive for foreign investors and tourists. Integration into Schengen with the maritime border will, at the same time, exponentially increase the importance of the Port of Constanta, on the Black Sea. What hurts the Romanians and the Bulgarians the most is, however, the decision regarding the land borders, that’s why whats been decided so far has been termed rather as a stage victory. Here is foreign policy analyst and commentator. University Professor Ştefan Popescu:

The big economic stake is the integration with land borders. But, considering the number of Romanians who take the plane to the European Union, the Schengen area, and this one step victory is important, it has a value, therefore, both practical and symbolic. I hope that it will make us relate to the European Union as first-class citizens. I hope we have more clarity regarding the main stakes: the integration of land borders. 2024 will be a difficult year for negotiations, because we have elections in the European Union. Towards the end of the year, in the fall, we will have political elections in Vienna, Austria. And I think that the negotiations for the integration of land borders will probably extend to 2025, when we will have another European Commission, another political reality in Vienna. But it is good that we also get in with air and sea transport, which are insignificant for the moment.

Accession to Schengen is a pending case both for Romania and for Bulgaria, for the entire Union in both major plans of interest, both economically and symbolically, says university professor Ion Bogdan Lefter:

Because many transporters, on the one hand, and the businesses that produce what is transported, suffer, because the goods stop at the Romanian and Bulgarian customs, so the economy of the entire European Union is affected – certainly, first of all, that of the two countries, Romania and Bulgaria, but it also hurts others in their wallets, their bank accounts. Symbolically speaking, it was a problem for the entire European Union, because it is a problem of Union cohesion, of sending messages in this sense.

Returning to the financial consequences, it must be said that the two countries incur huge losses every day, and at the end of the year we are talking about billions of euros less in their budgets. Can Romanian diplomacy do something to unlock access over land borders sooner? Again, analyst Ştefan Popescu

They can always do something. Romanian diplomacy must maintain pressure, must keep the issue in the Union’s attention, on the European Union’s agenda, and continue the dialogue with Vienna. Because, beyond the more or less justified wishes that Vienna has, the fact that Romania was taken hostage by Austria’s intention to determine a reform of the Schengen Area, here lies the quality of Romania’s bilateral relationship with Austria, a country with which we don’t share much, a density of human and economic relations, and yet, with this country, a close country, located in our vicinity, well, with this country we did not have a constant dialogue.

That is, we must also look at the homework that we did or did not do in relation to Vienna, beyond the populism of the Austrian government, and especially of the chancellor and the Minister of the Interior, says professor Ștefan Popescu.

Generative
AI programmes such as ChatGPT developed by OpenAI, of which Microsoft
owns 49%, or the Gemini chatbot presented this month by Google, and
which can summarise and understand, process and combine easily
different types of information, including text, code, audio image and
video, are able to maintain a dialogue with users, imitating human
interaction. They bring lots of benefits but also challenges. Capable
of writing essays, poems or translations within seconds or to
generate sounds and images, the generative systems have shown the
public the great potential of AI, as well as the risks, such as the
sharing on social networks of fake photographs, which poses the
danger of manipulating public opinion.

All
of this is sufficient and serious reason for Brussels to give more
attention to the issue. After long debates, the EU governments and
MEPs this month reached an agreement about the rules applying to
artificial intelligence systems. MEPs insisted on the need for
specific monitoring of this type of high-impact technology, calling
especially for more transparency about the algorithms and the
enormous data bases used by these systems. The agreement reached,
described as a milestone in the history of digital information,
promotes innovation in Europe while limiting the possible excesses of
these highly advanced technologies. The core of the project is a list
of rules imposed to systems considered as posing a high risk,
essentially those used in sensitive areas such as critical
infrastructure, education, human resources and law enforcement.
Interdictions will be rare and will apply to applications that are
contrary to European values, such as citizens’ evaluation and the
mass surveillance systems used in China and even the remote biometric
identification of persons in public spaces to prevent mass
surveillance, says Brussels.

Member
states have obtained, however, exemptions for certain law enforcement
missions, such as the fight against terrorism. With regard to
generative AI, the compromise consists in a two-speed approach. Rules
will be imposed on everyone in order to ensure the quality of the
data used in developing the algorithms and to check compliance with
copyright law. Also, developers will have to make sure that the
sounds, images and texts produced are clearly identified as
artificial. Beyond this, many areas stand to gain.

A
recent survey carried out in the US shows, for example, that adopting
AI has a positive impact on organisations, with six out of ten
marketing directors in the US saying they used this technology in the
activities carried out in the last year. According to data analysed
by Deloitte, with
the use of AI, sales productivity improved by 6% and customer
satisfaction by 7%, while indirect marketing costs dropped by 7%.

A
guest of Radio Romania, Vlad Dulea, the co-founder of Kooperativa
2.0, the official partner of CloudCart in Romania, spoke about the
impact of AI on e-commerce:

We
have to get used to the presence of artificial intelligence in our
life and not to be afraid of it, but learn to use to our benefit. AI
will automate almost completely marketing campaigns, audience
segmentation, the personalisation of the messages it delivers, will
detect and prevent fraud analysing transaction models to identify
possible suspicious activity, will optimise delivery routes and the
management of the supply chain, thus reducing the time and costs
associated with product delivery. It will improve interaction with
clients by understanding and processing natural language, allowing
for complex searches. Last but not least, it will allow for the
search of products based on images, which will make it easier for
customers to find what they are looking for even if they don’t know
the name or don’t have an exact description of the products. There are
certain advantages that clearly show us that artificial intelligence
will simplify the future of e-commerce enormously. However, even if
technology will play a significant role in the shopping experience in
the future, many customers still appreciate the direct interaction
with the shop personnel. Personalised advice and human customer
service can provide added value which technology cannot replace
completely. The sensation of touching and feeling the products and
the atmosphere of a physical shop are difficult to recreate online.
And let us also not forget that physical shops provide the
satisfaction of immediate purchase and not waiting for the delivery.
This advantage is particularly relevant for products that customers
need urgently.

Romania
is currently in third place in terms on online sales in Central and
Eastern Europe, after Poland and the Czech Republic. With a turnover
estimated at almost 10 billion euros in 2023, the e-commerce sector
in Romania dominates the market in Eastern Europe, accounting for
almost 60% of all sales among the countries in the region.

Manifested by rocket fire, the destruction of the border fence that separates the Gaza Strip from Israel, the penetration of Israeli territory – by air, land and sea – and by massacres committed in several kibbutzim and at a music festival dedicated to a Jewish holiday, the surprise and unprecedentedly harsh offensive of the terrorist organization Hamas shocked the international community. October 7, 2023, when in their incursion terrorists killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, including women, children, and the elderly, injured several thousand and took more than 200 hostages, will remain in history as a black day and the moment that triggered a large-scale Israeli response, resulting in a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Israel declared a state of war for the first time since 1973, with 300,000 reservists called up to support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus stated goal of completely destroying Hamas. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled from the north of the Gaza Strips 365 square kilometer territory to the south of the enclave, with the rest stranded in their attempt to shelter and facing lack of electricity, water, food, and medicines. Outraged by Israels actions, the Muslim world responded with demonstrations, some violent, in many countries in the Middle East, but also in Europe and the United States. Anti-Semitism in the US is reaching historic levels following violence in Israel and Gaza, the FBI director has warned, while other countries, including Britain and France, have also warned of a major rise in anti-Semitic incidents. The crisis in the Middle East is seen as a fissure in the regional security structure, and some analysts speak of the fact that it has become clear that the EU has limited influence in managing a geopolitical crisis on its periphery, including due to its exhaustion as a result of Russian aggression against Ukraine. According to university professor Ştefan Ciochinaru, the two wars can be compared from the perspective of Europes reaction, but only up to a point, because the political objectives of the aggressors differ:

“In the case of Ukraine, the objective of the aggressor is the destruction of the European order and the expulsion of America from Europe. Because, basically, this means Moscows refusal to accept Ukraines integration into the EU and NATO. As he actually stated, Putin wants to return to the situation of 1994, he wants to keep European countries in his sphere of influence, as happened during the USSR period. (…)On the other hand, in the case of aggression against Israel, the objective of those behind the aggressor Hamas is directed like billiard balls against the USA. Hence the vast network of complicity that connects a number of Arab states with the anti-American left in Europe, with Russia, with Iran and its vassals and, not least, although much more subtly, with China. They simply aim to instigate the entire Muslim world against the United States, against the West, because, in the strategic conception of those who want at all costs the revision of the world order, America is the main target. If you take down America, you can handle the rest very easily. Europe is a strategic dwarf. Japan, South Korea, and Australia remain isolated in the immensity of Asia. The whole great West will then collapse like a sandcastle. And Europes reaction, as usual, shows a lot, a lot of strategic myopia. For a year we have seen the inconsistency of the attitude and measures in the case of the war in Ukraine, a war which, lets not forget, is being fought on the territory of Europe, in the name of these values, and whose outcome will define the very future of the European project. As for the reaction to the attack on Israel and the provocation set up in the Arab catacombs, things are even worse. The European political left joined hands with the extreme right and with Muslim immigration, condemning the aggressor, the state of Israel. And there is also the fact that Europe also has its catacombs, where the old and new policies of anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism, and anti-democracy are still boiling in more or less secret crucibles.”

With good reason, we can ask ourselves what world we live in, and many do, of course , realize, Professor Ștefan Ciochinaru also says, that we live in a world assaulted by a hybrid war, which has nothing sacred:

“We see, as a result of the fire started in the Middle East, how teachers are assassinated in France, how railway stations and airports throughout Europe are threatened with bombings, how stars of David are drawn on the houses of the Jews in Berlin, how Mosaic cemeteries are desecrated, how in countries with old democratic states rallies are being held to condemn the victim, in solidarity with the aggressor. We see how the democratic press in Europe seems to have forgotten about the crimes of the Russians in Crimea, the crimes of Hamas in Israel, but is instead very worried about the so-called punitive actions taken by the Israeli army.”

Evoking a significant increase in anti-Semitism in the world since the beginning of the war with Hamas, Prime Minister Netanyahu advised Israeli citizens not to travel abroad. The request is, however, difficult to comply with, given that there are Israeli businesses and enterprises in many places in the world, and the economic factor is an important one. On the other hand, the World Health Organization categorized the conditions in Gaza as indescribable. It is too late to help the dead, but we can help the living, said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, pleading for a humanitarian pause in the fighting.