Diplomacy and the Romanian Diaspora
The Romanian Foreign Ministry has launched a new electronic consular system benefiting Romanians who live abroad.
Corina Cristea, 07.10.2014, 14:05
Described as revolutionary and enthusiastically welcomed by the Romanian authorities, the new consular project launched by the Foreign Ministry benefits the Romanian citizens living abroad, and is designed to simplify the procedures for the release of certain documents. The project is called “Electronic Integrated Management of Citizen Services,” will be completed in one and a half years and will cost some 7 million euros. The European Regional Development Fund covers 83% of the costs, with the balance provided by the Romanian government. Bogdan Stanescu, director general of the Consular Department in the Foreign Ministry, explains:
“The launch of this system is actually the launch of the last component of the integrated electronic consular system that we call E-Cons. The motto in designing this system was ‘bringing the consular offices closer to you’. It will manage over 95% of the consular services and will benefit both the Romanian citizens, and the consular staff. Thanks to this system, the consular services that are currently provided by consular workers, including, for instance, procedures related to notarization or to civil status documents, and which currently make up a lot of the activities provided by the Foreign Ministry through its consular offices, will be digitized.”
Citizens will be able to apply electronically for the documents they need and make appointments for picking up the respective documents from the Romanian diplomatic offices in question. The system will thus eliminate the need for citizens to make frequent visits to consular offices in order to get a particular document. At the same time, bureaucracy will be reduced and the work of consular personnel will be diminished. Speaking about the benefits for the diplomatic offices, Bogdan Stanescu also mentioned:
“Another benefit is the uniformity and implicit standardization of consular services. We will thus have real-time and strict control over all the consular services delivered. In this respect, I’d also like to mention that a monitoring center has been set up as part of our Consular Department, through which, as soon as all components have been put in place, we will be able to retrieve any consular service provided by any consular worker.”
According to the Foreign Ministry, the consular upgrade program was highly necessary, considering that close to 20% of the population of Romania are currently residing abroad.
