New member of European family

Romania gets the EU green card

For the past 16 years EU membership has been the main goal of every Romanian Government; Romania signed its Europe Agreement in 1993 and submitted its official application for membership in the EU in 1995, being the third country to do so after Hungary and Poland. However, in order to be eligible for EU membership, Romania had to undergo a number of reforms and fulfill certain political criteria


By DIANA HODIVOIANU
from Bucharest, ROMANIA


Starting with 2007, Romania's status will change - it will no longer be one of the "odd ones out", an accession country or a candidate, but a full EU member state with rights and obligations. However, this should not be seen as the final point of the efforts made so far - seeing that it is just the beginning of a long and difficult process that would force Romania to align to higher standards.

Despite of everything the country needs to accomplish (in terms of economical and social reforms), we cannot consider Romania's joining the EU as being a burden on the member countries, a fifth wheel, as some member countries have already implied. Romania may need to replicate Poland's efforts to counteract the negative image of the Polish plumber (a symbol of cheap labor) threatening to enter the EU market.

For the past 16 years EU membership has been the main goal of every Romanian Government; Romania signed its Europe Agreement in 1993 and submitted its official application for membership in the EU in 1995, being the third country to do so after Hungary and Poland. However, in order to be eligible for EU membership, Romania had to undergo a number of reforms and fulfill certain political criteria.

According to the EC 2000 Progress Report, in spite of the existing problems, Romania has encouraging prospects for development - with a large agricultural base and a strong industrial potential. As an EU member, it will be the seventh-largest nation in terms of population and it will undoubtedly influence the European Union's policy towards its relations with all of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Turkey, and Asia, since Romania is considered to be both a part of Central Europe and a part of South Eastern Europe.

This reflects the Romanian government's dual ambitions today of strengthening Romania's chances of Euro-Atlantic integration while also being seen as a leader and a zone of stability and democracy in its immediate neighborhood. According to a report on a series of debates hosted by the European Institute in Romania in October, Romania needs to clarify its policy once it enters the EU and for that it has several policy options, depending on its goals and objectives:

The "go with the flow" option - which is a passive approach taken by a Member State that chooses to agree with the consensus among member states often because it may have no clear goals.

The "waiting reserve" option - that may very well be used together with the first option. Because it has no clear position, the member state is forced to adopt a strategy of wait and see, while others decide on the respective issue.

The reactive option - is a more effective method as the country policy changes according to the EU Agenda. However, the Member State reacts defensively on an Agenda that is set pro-actively by others and within a framework pre-defined in Brussels.

The pro-active option - when the Member State tries, even if not actively, to modify the Agenda in its own interests. One can accomplish this when having the Presidency of the EU.

At the moment, it is difficult to predict how Romania will find its place within the European Union and how it will cope with EU regulations and standards. Overall, most Romanians are enthralled by the prospect of EU integration and this is mainly because of the benefits and opportunities everyone hopes it will bring along. There have been several public information campaigns in Romania regarding the prospective EU integration and all of them have focused on sending out the right information about the benefits of this process. This does not mean that the challenges (mostly a euphemism for difficulties) were swept under the rug but, in all fairness, who wants to promote challenges on the eve of such a historical event?