On February 28, 2024, between 12:00 – 13:30 p.m., the European Institute of Romania organized an online event dedicated to researchers whose articles were published in the 2023 issues of the Romanian Journal of European Affairs. Titled “RJEA Network of Research Event – 5-minutes ideas”, the second edition of this event aimed to provide a platform of communication and debate for researchers from various countries (e.g., Albania, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Ukraine). In addition, it sought to facilitate new forms of collaboration, as well as an exchange of ideas that might open new lines of research or inspire common projects.
In the presentations given by the speakers and the remarks of the Q&A session, the following ideas were highlighted:
- For the first time ever, energy efficiency was acknowledged by the European legislation as a fundamental principle, and it was introduced in a directive.
- The contribution of motorways to regional development is much more significant in the less developed countries of Eastern Europe than in the West, since each new infrastructure has the potential to enable regional development.
- In the Western Balkans, corruption is perceived rather differently at the political and social levels. On the one hand, the fight against corruption is viewed as a strategic objective, and on the other hand in the collective mindset there is room for making strides.
- There is a tendency in the Visegrád Group to move more towards collective funding and even to go directly from international structure to international structure rather than state to state or international structure to state.
- The European Union plays a key role in promoting democracy in the Eastern Partnership countries, but its influence is somewhat limited by the domestic factors in the states targeted.
- Although the Russian financial system was initially disrupted by the sanctions imposed by the European Union, the measures taken by the Russian authorities led to a stabilization of the system, thus reflecting its high level of resilience to risks.
- Challenges related to administrative and legal factors characterize the support given by the civil society organisations to the national defence systems.
- The approximation of reality is a major issue in most scholarships, particularly when dealing with social change. Four level of analysis should be considered: comprehensiveness of knowledge, consistency of the analysis framework with the real world, the distorted perception of reality, and choosing and mastering disciplines, methodology and indicators.