SPOS 2023 studies: economic resilience, the European perspective of the Western Balkans, and regional cooperation mechanisms

The European Institute of Romania (EIR) is pleased to announce the publication of the studies within the project Strategy and Policy Studies (SPOS) 2023. The research focused on themes supporting the process of elaborating and substantiating Romania’s strategies and policies in the post-accession period.

The first study conducted within the 2023 Strategy and Policy Studies (SPOS) research program is titled Building a resilient European economy by 2040. Romania’s integration into European value chains, and was coordinated by Daniela Staicu. It begins with identifying the effects of the pandemic crisis, and the impact of the war in Ukraine, on the international economy, in order to highlight the best ways of consolidating the resilience of the Romanian economy, in the context of the multiple transitions (geopolitical transition, economic policy transition, energy transition, digital transition). Moreover, the authors carried out a SWOT analysis of the economic situation, with the aim of displaying the opportunities that Romania can seize in order to speed up its integration in the European value chains.

The study is available in Romanian, here.

The second study conducted within the 2023 Strategy and Policy Studies (SPOS) research program tackled The European integration process in the Western Balkans – Romania’s perspectives and orientations, and was coordinated by Miruna Butnaru-Troncotă. This research reveals the complex challenges, associated with the process of the European integration of the Western Balkans. It explores and analyses different aspects of this region, including the political, societal, and economic evolutions, with a special focus on the judicial reform, the energy sector and national minorities’ rights. In summing up the arguments and the key insights of each chapter, this study provides an overarching understanding of the subject. In addition, it aims at showcasing Romania’s perspectives and orientations towards the EU’s enlargement process in this region.

The study is available in Romanian, here.

The third study focuses on the The role of regional cooperation mechanisms in the current geopolitical context – opportunities and challenges for Romania. This research was coordinated by Octavian-Dragomir Jora. It examines Romania’s opportunities and challenges stemming from its participation in a series of regional cooperation mechanisms. The analysis takes into account the decisive factors of the regional cooperation and their impact on multiple dimensions. The authors dwell on the competition for the cooperation opportunities, the effects of the overlapping crises, and the endeavours for recovery, and they point out the affinities between the regional cooperation formats and the membership in the European Union and NATO. The conclusions highlight the wide array of possibilities for regional cooperation, in a heterogeneous inventory of cooperation formats, further complicated by the challenges to the international order based on rules.

The study is available in Romanian, here.

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